TABOR is a Formula for Disaster
Importing Colorado's Proven Failure Would Not Address Oklahoma's Needs
State Question 726 offers an amendment to the Oklahoma State Constitution limiting the growth of state revenues and expenditures in an irresponsible way. The proposal, called the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR, is a proven failure that has disastrous consequences for Oklahoma's communities.
TABOR IS A PROVEN FAILURE
- Colorado is the only state in the nation to have a spending limit formula of the kind being proposed in Oklahoma (annual growth limited to population plus inflation growth). Colorado voters, led by a broad-based, bipartisan coalition of business leaders, teachers, healthcare providers, firefighters, and others, recognized that TABOR was having a negative impact on Colorado's budget. Colorado voted to suspend TABOR as a way to emerge from the state's prolonged budget crisis.
- TABOR spending limits forced Colorado to consistently under-fund key public services. For example, K-12 education spending per pupil fell by more than $300 from 1992 to 2000. Teacher pay dropped way below the national average. Higher Education now receives just 11% of annual general fund appropriations compared to 19% in 1992.
SQ 726 WOULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEMS WITH COLORADO'S TABOR
Proponents acknowledge that Colorado's TABOR is flawed but claim that SQ 726 fixes Colorado's mistakes. Yet under SQ 726:
- As in Colorado, the state budget would be subject to a flawed mathematical formula that does not reflect the cost of providing the services that government actually provides, like health care, education and transportation, or the cost of serving the population government actually serves, like children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
- The state would have less ability to respond to revenue downturns. The Legislature would no longer be required to keep its revenue reserve. The Legislature could no longer pass supplemental appropriations without having to declare a constitutional emergency and raid the constitutional emergency fund. We would be unable to address unanticipated emergencies.
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SQ 726 grants any citizen the right to sue to enforce its provisions. The annual state budget will be held hostage to competing lawsuits, funded by taxpayers.
- Tax rebates, in years when they are provided, would be proportional to households' income tax only. Families that pay more in sales tax, excise taxes and property tax would be left out. The truth is that families will end up paying more in new fees and charges.
OKLAHOMA DOES NOT NEED TABOR
- Oklahoma maintains a comprehensive system of homegrown tax and spending limits. Oklahoma already has a balanced budget requirement, a Constitutional Reserve Fund, and the requirement of a vote of the people to raise taxes.