The hidden forces that constrain spending in Colorado.
A study of three constitutional amendments that have wide-ranging consequences on how Colorado pays for public services.
“The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights’ central provision requires state lawmakers and local officials to put proposed tax hikes and bond measures to a vote of the people. But that’s not all TABOR does. It tells lawmakers when to ask — during regularly held elections, instead of special ones. It tells lawmakers how to ask — by listing the total amount the tax hike or bond measure is expected to generate and how it will be spent. And it prohibits certain types of taxes, whether voters would approve or not.”