Ballot Initiatives

Written by: Joshua Smith on Sep 5, 2006 10:00 AM EDT

Linked to groups: MidMichigan Democracy for America

Below are brief descriptions of the ballot initiatives this fall. Note that although these initiatives are supposed to have been given designations by the Secretary of State following the primary, no such official designations appear on the SOS website. Accordingly, I have termed them "Proposal ", "Proposal B", and so forth.

Please review these so that we can vote on which to oppose/endorse at the next meeting tomorrow night. I have also uploaded a file of this information to the site for easier reading.

PROPOSAL A
Conservation and Recreation Legacy Fund
Referendum Objective: To establish the Conservation and Recreation Legacy Fund, the Game and Fish Protection Trust Fund and the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund within the State Constitution.

Sponsor: Legislature
Status: On Ballot
Full Text [www.legislature.mi.gov/documents...]:

House Joint Resolution Z
(Substitute S-2 as reported)
Sponsor: Representative Randy Richardville
CONTENT
The joint resolution would amend Article IX of the State Constitution to do the following:
-- Create the "Michigan Conservation and Recreation Legacy Fund".
-- Require the State Treasurer to establish within the Legacy Fund specific restricted
accounts, and allow the Treasurer to establish additional subaccounts as authorized by law.
-- Require money in the accounts to be spent only for specific purposes.
-- Establish the Michigan Game and Fish Protection Trust Fund and the Michigan Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund within the Constitution.
The joint resolution would create the Forest Recreation Account, the Game and Fish Protection Account, the Off-Road Vehicle Account, the Recreation Improvement Account, the Snowmobile Account, the State Park Improvement Account, and the Waterways Account. (Under House Bill 5870, which is tie-barred to the joint resolution, these accounts would replace existing funds under the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The bill also would re-establish the existing Game and Fish Protection Trust Fund and the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund as the Trust Funds proposed by the joint resolution.) The purposes for which the accounts could be used would parallel those identified by statute for the existing funds. The accounts also could be used for grants to State colleges and universities to implement programs funded by the particular accounts.
The joint resolution would have to be submitted to the people of the State at the 2006 general election. The Legislature would have to provide by law for the implementation of the constitutional amendment.
Legislative Analyst: Suzanne Lowe
FISCAL IMPACT
The joint resolution would have no direct fiscal impact on State or local government. No
license or permit fees would be changed. For the past few years of declining State revenue, restricted funds sources have been used in place of General Fund dollars. These uses have included the appropriation of fund balances to the General Fund. Establishing the funds and accounts in the State Constitution would limit the expanding uses of the revenue.
Date Completed: 12-3-04 Fiscal Analyst: Jessica Runnels

PROPOSAL B
Michigan Civil Rights Iniative
Initiative Objective: To ban affirmative action in government hiring and college admissions in Michigan.

Sponsor: Michigan Civil Rights Initiative Committee
Status: On Ballot
Website: www.michigancivilrights.org/miss...

From AFL-CIO:
[www.miaflcio.org/BallotInitiativ...]
Affirmative action has been the most successful tool our state and nation have in the fight against discrimination of women and minorities. It has helped integrate police and fire departments, open doors at universities, provide access to contracts for women and minority owned businesses, and generated better understanding between races and genders.
Currently, a group from California is pressing to change Michigan's Constitution to immediately end affirmative action programs that have helped women and minorities have an opportunity in education, hiring and contracts. In November 2006, voters will be faced with so-called "Michigan Civil Rights Initiative," and it is important that they take a few minutes to educate themselves before casting their ballots.
A large group of mainstream Michigan-based organizations, has gathered as Michigan United, including AARP, the Michigan Catholic Conference, the Detroit Regional Chamber, NAACP chapters, New Detroit, AFL-CIO and other unions and many more, to support diversity and equal opportunity programs. These groups say that we have not yet ended discrimination and that in certain cases it is important to consider race and gender when making decisions among qualified applicants or contractors. It is important that our democratic institutions mirror the populations they serve, and that discrimination be ended.
Affirmative action is one tool - the most effective tool - we have to address these inequities. Ending affirmative action will mean and end to:

Outreach programs that encourage minorities and women to enter fields such as police, fire fighting, and engineering or to attend college.

Programs to encourage women and minorities to stay in school and prepare for good-paying jobs in engineering, science, or even construction and law enforcement.

Programs to encourage men to become teachers or nurses, where they are under-represented and needed to meet societal goals.

Affirmative action goals for contracting or hiring in state and local governments.

Gender and minority based representation on boards and commissions, including advisory boards dealing with corrections, education and public health.
In the months ahead, you will be hearing much about affirmative action. It is important that you stay engaged in this discussion, learn more, and be prepared to speak out to support affirmative action as a vital tool in moving Michigan forward, economically and socially. Affirmative action means we help ensure all of Michigan is involved in our state's drive to remake our economy. We can't afford to lose affirmative action today.

PROPOSAL C
Restoration of Mourning Dove Hunting Ban
Initiative Objective: To restore the 100 year-old ban on dove hunting in Michigan that was recently repealed by the governor and state legislators.

Sponsor: The Committee to Restore the Dove Hunting Ban
Status: On Ballot

Website: www.stopshootingdoves.org... :

Myth vs Reality: The Truth About Proposal 3!
The Committee to Restore the Dove Shooting Ban seeks to restore Michigan's 100-year ban on the shooting of mourning doves. The committee submitted 73% more signatures than the 159,000 required by law for certification, illustrating the overwhelming support for the referendum campaign by the voters of Michigan. Committee members include the Michigan Audubon Society, the Detroit Audubon Society, the Michigan Humane Society and the Humane Society of the United States.
On June 2, 2005, the Board of State Canvassers officially approved and certified the Committee's petition signatures, stopping the shooting of mourning doves until the November 2006 election as stipulated by Article II, Section 9 of the Michigan Constitution, which states that, "No law as to which the power of referendum properly has been invoked shall be effective thereafter unless approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon at the next general election."
Mourning doves have been continuously protected in Michigan for 100 years; they should not be shot for target practice. Banned since 1905, the shooting of doves is not a tradition in Michigan. Doves would essentially be shot for what dove-shooting proponents term as "fun" or target practice.
Hunting doves is unnecessary and serves no wildlife management purpose. There is no reason to open a shooting season on doves. Mourning doves ¬ also known as the farmer's friend - are ground-feeding birds that eat pest weed seeds; they pose no threat to agricultural crops, homes, or anything of value to people. Other northern states also have long-standing policies of protecting doves. There are no management problems within those states and no one has suggested that doves are overpopulated.
Mourning doves have significant economic value as live songbirds. Doves are beloved backyard birds and are an important part of the multi-billion dollar bird watching and feeding industry in Michigan. As a backyard songbird, scientific research studies show the mourning dove as "the second most-frequently reported bird at feeders." More Michigan residents participate in wild bird watching and spend more doing it than any other outdoor activity ¬ including all forms of hunting combined.
Doves are not a viable human food source. As small birds, even if shot properly, doves have very little "edible" flesh on them. During the 60-day shooting season of September and October, doves are actually at their lightest body weight for the entire year. However, doves are an important source of food for protected birds of prey such as eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls.
Shooting doves is known to produce orphaned young. Doves are scientifically known to still be nesting during the 60-day shooting season of September and October. Doves mate for life because both parents are required to successfully fledge squabs. The killing of one parent is known to cause unnecessary suffering of dependent young who will die in the nest of starvation.
There is an unacceptably high wounding rate for dove hunting. Scientific research studies confirm an average wounding rate of 30 percent in hunted areas - meaning that nearly one in three birds is wounded and not retrieved after being shot. In Michigan, where there is no tradition of dove hunting and where few Michigan hunters have had the experience of shooting at doves, we can expect an even higher wounding rate. If shooters kill 300,000 mourning doves a year, we can expect they will wound and fail to retrieve nearly 100,000 others.
There are plenty of other species for the sporting community to pursue and shoot in the state. More than 115 species are considered game species in Michigan. Not counting unprotected birds, 40 of these game species are birds. Turkeys, pheasants, geese, ducks, woodcock, rails, snipe, and dozens of other bird species give recreational hunters more than ample shooting opportunities at all times of the year in Michigan. In fact, hunting seasons are longer and bag limits are larger than ever for many species.
Shooting at doves produces mistaken identity kills, including American kestrels, Sharp-shinned hawks and several other federally protected species. Many "non-target" avian species are often unavoidably and mistakenly shot by mourning dove hunters.
Dove shooting will contribute to the discharge of enormous amounts of toxic lead shot in the environment. For every dove shot and bagged, hunters discharge an average of 8 shots according to a long-term study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Densities of greater than 860,000 pellets per hectare have been reported in dove fields, which are usually crop-growing soils. Cumulative lead deposits pose a significant risk to ground-feeding mourning doves and to other wildlife that directly and indirectly ingest toxic shot, including birds of prey and other animals who scavenge on downed birds.

From AFL-CIO:
[www.miaflcio.org/BallotInitiativ...]
In June 2004, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill (PA 160 of 2004) allowing mourning dove hunting throughout the state . Unhappy with Granholm's approval of the bill, the Committee to Restore the Dove Shooting Ban submitted more than 275,000 signatures to the Michigan Bureau of Elections in March. Because of the ballot initiative, the 2005 and 2006 seasons have been canceled.


PROPOSAL D
Eminent Domain: Senate Joint Resolution E
Referendum Objective: Would amend the State Constitution to restrict the power of state or local government to take private property by eminent domain for certain private purposes.

Sponsor: Legislature
Status: On Ballot

Full Text [www.legislature.mi.gov/documents...]:

Enrolled Senate Joint Resolution E
A JOINT RESOLUTION proposing an amendment to the state constitution of 1963, by amending section 2 of article X, to restrict the power of state or local government to take private property by eminent domain for certain private purposes.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the state of Michigan, That the following amendment to the state constitution of 1963, to restrict the power of state or local government to take private property by eminent domain for certain private purposes, is proposed, agreed to, and submitted to the people of the state:

ARTICLE X
Sec. 2. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation therefore being first made or secured in a manner prescribed by law. If private property consisting of an individual's principal residence is taken for public use, the amount of compensation made and determined for that taking shall be not less than 125% of that property's fair market value, in addition to any other reimbursement allowed by law. Compensation shall be determined in proceedings in a court of record.
"Public use" does not include the taking of private property for transfer to a private entity for the purpose of economic development or enhancement of tax revenues. Private property otherwise may be taken for reasons of public use as that term is understood on the effective date of the amendment to this constitution that added this paragraph.
In a condemnation action, the burden of proof is on the condemning authority to demonstrate, by the preponderance of the evidence, that the taking of a private property is for a public use, unless the condemnation action involves a taking for the eradication of blight, in which case the burden of proof is on the condemning authority to demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence, that the taking of that property is for a public use.
Any existing right, grant, or benefit afforded to property owners as of November 1, 2005, whether provided by this section, by statute, or otherwise, shall be preserved and shall not be abrogated or impaired by the constitutional amendment that added this paragraph.

From AFL-CIO:
[www.miaflcio.org/BallotInitiativ...]
Senate Joint Resolution E would amend the State Constitution to restrict the power of a local government to forcibly buy private property, a process called eminent domain. Governments would be allowed to use eminent domain only for public use, which would not include the transfer of property to a private entity for economic development.
Eminent domain typically is used to clear space for public projects such as highways, airports or schools. But governments sometimes have used the tool for economic development projects that attract jobs and tax dollars, which courts sometimes have allowed as long as property owners are fairly compensated.
The state Supreme Court in 2004 ruled that economic development projects do not constitute a public use under the 1963 state constitution. But lawmakers voted to place the proposal on Michigan's ballot anyway, saying the high court's makeup could change.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled one year ago that governments may take private property for economic development, but it also said states may pass additional protections if they see fit.

PROPOSAL E
EDUCATIONAL FUNDING GUARANTEE
Initiative Objective: To amend the State School Aid Act to ensure that the legislature establish and appropriate minimum funding levels for Michigan's public elementary and secondary schools, intermediate school districts, community colleges, public universities and independent nonprofit colleges or universities. The proposal would provide for minimum funding increases for education by an amount not less than the General Price level.

Sponsor: Citizens for Education
Status: On Ballot

YES! Proposal 5 Talking Points
[www.michigank16.org/talking_poin...]
• The days of walking out of high school and getting a good job in Michigan's auto plants are over. We must invest in public education now to secure a brighter economic future for Michigan. It's good public policy.
• Increased funding will maintain an experienced, tested teacher in every classroom.
• Our state's level of investment in public education - kindergarten through graduate school - is key to Michigan's future economic growth, prosperity, and ultimate success.
• We cannot compete in the global economy unless we dramatically improve education and increase the number of Michigan residents who continue their education beyond high school.
• Community colleges need adequate funding to provide a quality two-year education and job training skills in those occupations requiring less than a four-year college degree. An affordable community college education is essential to maintaining a highly educated workforce for the high paying jobs of the future.
• Greater investment in our local public schools, community colleges and universities will improve education, make college tuition more affordable, and yield a more skilled workforce and citizenry with advanced training.
• Experts universally agree the best way to fix our economic problems is to properly invest in our educational system and create a highly educated and trained workforce for the future. Proposition 5 will provide adequate, sustained and inflationary funding for Michigan's public K-12, community colleges and universities.
• State support for Michigan's public community colleges and universities has been cut by hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years. Our local, public K-12 schools are continually forced to make cuts to basic programs, threatening the viability of Michigan's entire K-16 public education system.
• Michigan needs a highly educated, highly skilled, can-do workforce prepared to face tomorrow's challenges and create opportunities for more economic growth and prosperity. Employers looking to locate or expand businesses in Michigan need access to a talented labor force that can take their businesses to new heights of success.
• A highly educated workforce will attract the future knowledge-driven job providers who will bring high paying jobs to Michigan. Google recently announced plans to expand business in Ann Arbor and hire 1,000 employees with an annual salary of $48,000.
• Noted observer of politics, economics and education, Phil Power, pointed out that manufacturing CEOs agree: the presence of a quality K-16 public education system is the most important factor in the survival of manufacturing in Michigan.
• In his report entitled, "A Roadmap to Michigan's Future: Meeting the Challenge of a Global Knowledge-Driven Economy," James J. Duderstadt, former President of the University of Michigan, said building Michigan's regional advantage is achieved through " . . . creating a highly educated and skilled workforce (in) an environment that stimulates creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial behavior."
• Microsoft CEO Bill Gates recently told the National Council of State Legislatures that a vibrant K-16 education system is the key to attract businesses to a state. More education means higher earnings and the creation of more high paying jobs.
• The state mandated curriculum recently passed by the Legislature requires every high school to provide a rigorous academic curriculum for all students. These additional course and staff requirements will require stable, adequate funding for our local schools to meet the challenge.
• The people of Michigan understand that to grow Michigan's economy we must increase our investment in education, improve our ability to produce a highly educated and skilled workforce that the knowledge-driven, high paying jobs of the future demand.

YES! Proposal 5 Questions & Answers
[www.michigank16.org/ques_answers...]
WHAT IS PROPOSAL 5?
Proposal 5 is an education ballot initiative that requires the State of Michigan to provide annual funding increases at the rate of inflation (based on the previous year's Consumer Price Index) to local public K-12 schools, intermediate school districts, community colleges and higher education institutions.
It also requires the State to fund any deficiencies in the School Aid Fund from the General Fund, allow base funding for school districts with declining enrollment to use a three-year average; cap Retirement Fund contribution for public schools, community college and universities and require the State to pay remaining portion.
Proposal 5 reduces funding gap between school districts receiving basic per-pupil foundation allowance and those receiving maximum foundation allowance.
WHEN WILL WE VOTE ON PROPOSAL 5?
Proposal 5 will be on the November 7, 2006, General Election ballot.
DOES PROPOSAL 5 AMEND THE MICHIGAN CONSTITUTION?
No. Proposal 5 is a legislative initiative.
CAN PROPOSAL 5 BE AMENDED?
Yes - if needed, future legislatures, with a 3/4 vote in the House and Senate, can amend provisions of Proposal 5.
WHEN WOULD PROPOSAL 5 TAKE EFFECT?
When passed by Michigan voters, Proposal 5 would take effect in the 2006-2007 school year.
DO VOTERS SUPPORT PROPOSAL 5?
Yes. All of the polling research - our own internal polls as well as polls conducted by news organizations - consistently show support for Proposal 5 ranging from 59% to 70% support. The most recent poll conducted for WXYZ-TV News 7/Detroit News on August 16 shows 67% voting YES on Proposal 5.
IS PROPOSAL 5 GOOD FOR MICHIGAN'S ECONOMY?
Yes. Michigan's future depends on changing our culture from one of "it's good enough" to one of high expectations and demands for education attainment and results. We can invest in our public education systems now - or pay much more later with a dwindling economy, low-paying jobs, declining state services and infrastructure, and a continuing downward spiral. K-16 public education is the key to Michigan's future success.
DOES AN EDUCATION FUNDING CRISIS EXIST?
In school years 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004, K-12 school districts saw no increase in State Aid and Michigan's community colleges and universities had budgets slashed 15%. Class sizes are increasing. College tuition is on the rise making a college education unaffordable for many. More than 50 local school districts are approaching bankruptcy. Yes, there is a funding crisis in education. While Michigan should increase teacher training, hire additional counselors, math and science teachers, reduce class size and reduce college tuition - the legislature is forcing public education to do the opposite. That's why more than 300,000 citizens signed petitions for a legislative initiative that would require the state to adequately fund education - kindergarten through university - each year with an inflation (cost of living) increase.
WHY ISN'T THE STATE ADEQUATELY FUNDING PRIORITIES LIKE EDUCATION AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS?
During the 1990s, the legislature passed special tax cuts, created special tax loopholes or otherwise reduced the funding base for essential services including education, health, safety, local government, roads, environment and more - all the things that make Michigan a great place to live, work, play and raise families.
CRITICS OF PROPOSAL 5 SAY IT LACKS ACCOUNTABILITY - ARE THEY CORRECT?
No. All required accountability measures, such as the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Michigan's Education YES! and high-stakes tests, like the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP), are already laws in place to ensure quality public schools. Additionally, Michigan passed a statewide, mandated rigorous academic curriculum which must be implemented in the next few years which will require much more from our high schools and students alike. We lack legislative accountability to adequately fund education - at all levels.
WE HEAR THAT MICHIGAN'S TAX CLIMATE IS UNFAVORABLE TO BUSINESSES. WHAT ARE THE FACTS?
Michigan has a favorable tax burden compared to other states. Michigan ranks 30th in the nation and has one of the lowest business tax rates in the Great Lakes region. Job providers of the future and today's manufacturers agree that a highly educated, skilled workforce trumps all other factors when deciding whether to stay or expand. Here's what others have to say:
• Bill Gates, founder and CEO of Microsoft, told the National Council of State Legislatures that companies investing in a state do not look at state tax structures. Their priorities are a quality education system, a pool of highly educated employees and proximity of world-class research universities. Tax incentives are low on their priority list.
• Saul Hymans, professor of economics at the University of Michigan, says when global companies look at states in which to invest - we want them to come to Michigan. At the top of their list is a highly educated workforce.
• James Duderstadt, former President, University of Michigan states that Michigan achieves a regional advantage through by creating a highly educated and skilled workforce in an environment that stimulates creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.
To position Michigan and attract high-tech, global businesses of the future, we must invest more resources in our public education system and other infrastructure needs - health, safety, transportation and the environment.
HOW WILL THE LEGISLATURE PAY FOR PROPOSAL 5? WILL TAXES BE INCREASED OR OTHER CRITICAL SERVICES CUT?
No. It is the responsibility of the Legislature to find the revenue to fund essential services and make education a priority. There are billions of dollars in special tax breaks, loopholes and other tax expenditures readily available to the Legislature to help them do their job and pay for priorities like education and other vital services provided by the state.
ARE THE JOBS OF TOMORROW HERE TODAY?
Yes! More than 80% of Michigan voters agree that the days of leaving high school to get a high-paying job in the plants are over. Our children will only be able to have a good life if they receive a high-quality education and skills via accessible and affordable community colleges or a four-year higher education degree. Now is the time Michigan's students - K-16 - become a "special interest group." They deserve a world-class education - kindergarten through university - and it will require a renewed commitment dedicated to creating a culture that values education attainment and success.
WHY DID GOOGLE DECIDE TO EXPAND ITS BUSINESS IN ANN ARBOR?
CEO and founder Larry Page stated that he wanted to expand in Ann Arbor because there is a pool of educated and creative talent (workforce) ready to work in Google's information-knowledge business. Google will be hiring 1000 employees at an average starting salary of $48,000. Michigan needs to continue to nurture and fund education and the research universities that attract knowledge-based businesses of the future.
CAN WE AFFORD TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION WHEN MANUFACTURING IS STRUGGLING IN MICHIGAN?
Even with manufacturing, especially the auto industry at a crossroads, we have no choice but to diversify our economy with more high tech jobs that require a more educated and skilled workforce. Michigan's future economic success depends on producing a highly educated, technologically advanced workforce and it will require increased funding for local public schools, community colleges and universities.
HOW WILL THE INCREASED FUNDING REQUIRED UNDER PROPOSAL 5 BE SPENT?
With all the accountability measures in place, with a more rigorous high school academic curriculum already mandated and colleges and universities restructuring to educate for 21st century opportunities, our education systems can plan and improve. One proven method of improving instruction is to reduce class size so teachers can spend additional time and individual attention to students. This approach cannot be used without additional, stable funding.
CAN I CONTRIBUTE $$ TO SUPPORT PASSAGE OF PROPOSAL 5?
Yes - contributions can be made by sending a check to Citizens for Education, the ballot question committee supporting Proposal 5. Mail your check to: Citizens for Education, P. O. Box 2573, East Lansing, MI 48823. Be sure to include your name and address. Or, you may make a secure credit card contribution using the "Make a Donation" button on the K-16 home page. Your contribution will be used to get our message to voters.
WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PROPOSAL 5 AND THE CAMPAIGN?
Updated information about Proposal 5 can be found on the K-16 Coalition web site at www.michigank16.org.
From AFL-CIO:
[www.miaflcio.org/BallotInitiativ...]
Would require state lawmakers and the governor to provide, at minimum, inflationary increases in school funding each year.
The initiative gives the Legislature 40 days to approve the plan after signatures were submitted to the secretary of state on June 5th. If not approved, it would go on the November ballot.
If passed by the Legislature or approved by the voters this legislative initiative would:
• Provide annual funding increases equal to inflation for K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.
• Reduce the gap between lowest-spending and highest-spending districts from $1,300 to $1,000 between 2007 and 2012.
• Cap retirement costs for K-12 districts, community colleges and universities at 14.87 percent of payroll.
• Fund school districts with declining enrollment based on the student enrollment average of the three prior fiscal years.

PROPOSAL F
Stop Overspending
Initiative Objective: Proposed amendment to the State Constitution to "prohibit state lawmakers from earning state funded pensions and state retirement program benefits on account of their legislative service; mandate that only with voter approval can state government raise spending and revenue growth limits based on two measures: 1) the existing percentage of personal income revenue growth limit and 2) the new population and inflation adjusted spending growth limit; provide for mandatory taxpayer refunds of at least 50% of surplus whenever revenue collected exceeds spending limits imposed by this measure, in coordination with the Budget Stabilization Fund;...

Sponsor: The Michigan Stop Overspending Committee
Status: Pending Verification of Signatures
Website: www.sosmichigan.com...

From AFL-CIO:
[www.miaflcio.org/BallotInitiativ...]

Michigan voters are currently being asked to sign an initiative petition called Stop OverSpending (SOS), which would put a rigid spending formula into the state constitution. This proposal is modeled on Colorado's so-called "Taxpayer's Bill of Rights" (TABOR) that was adopted in that state in 1992. TABOR limits the growth of state and local revenues or expenditures to a highly restrictive formula -- the annual change in population plus inflation.
"SOS" Michigan proponents claim to have fixed Colorado's TABOR by requiring money be deposited into the state's rainy day fund to protect core state services during an economic downturn. However, according to the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency, if the TABOR population and inflation formula had been in place for the last four years Michigan would not have been able to make any deposits in the rainy day fund.
In Colorado public services have deteriorated significantly since 1992. For example, between 1991 and 2003 -- a period in which the percentage of children who are uninsured declined nationally -- the proportion of low-income children who lack health insurance in Colorado rose from 15 percent to 27 percent. The share of low-income individuals in Colorado enrolled in Medicaid is lower than in all but five other states in the nation. In 2000-01, Colorado ranked 49th in expenditures for K-12 education relative to the state's economy. In addition, Colorado now ranks 48th in its level of taxpayer support of colleges and universities -- down from 35th in 1992.
Allowing revenue or expenditures to grow with population and inflation may sound reasonable, but it falls far short of being able to fund the ongoing cost of government. In an era in which health care costs are growing far faster than inflation and populations are aging, limiting the rate of spending growth to inflation plus population growth forces annual reductions in the level of government services.
Indeed, there is no better way to shrink the scope of what government can accomplish; TABOR creates conditions that each year pit programs and services against each other for survival. And once such limits are embedded in a state constitution, they usually cannot be removed or modified. They undermine existing services for children, youth, and families and make any new initiatives virtually impossible to undertake.
Unfortunately, as Colorado found out, strangling a government's ability to flexibly and responsibly raise taxes has all kinds of social costs. Not surprisingly, in a landmark referendum last November, Colorado voters overwhelmingly suspended for five years the very same TABOR amendment they had been hoodwinked into approving a few years earlier, thereby voluntarily forfeiting 3.7 billion dollars in tax refunds.
While Colorado remains the only state with a TABOR, organizations dedicated to shrinking government -- such as Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, the CATO Institute, and Americans for Prosperity Foundation, among others -- are pushing for the adoption of TABORs in other states. In 2006, TABOR initiatives have qualified for the ballot in three states; Maine, Ohio and Oklahoma and are currently being circulated for signatures in a number of other states. TABOR amendments have also been introduced in a handful of states through the legislative process and more are expected as the sessions progress.

Tags:
Location: Lansing, MI 48864