Amendment 66 handily defeated

The Colorado Statesman

Peter Marcus

November 08, 2013

Republicans on Tuesday night were quick to seize the political opportunity to attack Democrats following failure of a nearly $1 billion tax increase for education reform in Colorado.

But Democrats are carefully steering clear of partisan wrangling, suggesting that Coloradans agree with the premise of Amendment 66. They just differ on how to get there.

“The great news is that both the supporters and the opponents of this measure all want the same thing,” Sen. Michael Johnston, a lead proponent, said from the Amendment 66 watch party at the Marriott in downtown Denver shortly after it became apparent early on election night that the education funding initiative would fail.

“The folks who voted ‘no’ on Amendment 66 tonight want a great education for their kids as much as the folks who voted ‘yes,’” Johnston continued. “They want a strong economy and they want a healthy state.”

But the majority of Coloradans were clearly uncomfortable coughing up an estimated $133 extra a year in annual taxes to support a new funding formula for K-12 education.

Voters were asked to create a two-tier state income tax rate. Taxpayers earning up to $75,000 per year would have seen their rate increase from 4.63 percent to 5 percent; and earners above $75,000 would have been taxed at 5.9 percent.

The measure would have raised $950 million to support the state’s underfunded school system, while rewriting the funding formula associated with the School Finance Act.

The latest statewide tally on Wednesday afternoon indicated that Amendment 66 failed 65 percent to 35 percent.

The initiative stemmed from Senate Bill 213 this year, which calls for all-day kindergarten; reforms to enrollment funding; more money for at-risk students and English language learners; measurements of academic growth and achievement; spending transparency; and equitable funding for all public schools, including charters.

But those reforms were dependent upon voter approval of a funding stream. Johnston, who wrote SB 213, was at a loss Tuesday night to come up with an alternative plan given the failure of the initiative.

“All of Senate Bill 213 is inactive…” lamented Johnston. “Now you’re back to the status quo with the School Finance Act.”

The soft-spoken senator began throwing out ideas to come up with a funding stream in the next seven years, as SB 213 calls for. He suggested a possible severance tax increase, or a sales tax hike. Other ideas include using existing resources such as the State Education Fund.

But Johnston said there is little that can be done without addressing constitutional funding conflicts. The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires a vote of the people to raise taxes, but Amendment 23 requires education spending at inflation plus 1 percent, while the Gallagher Amendment has lowered the assessment rate for residential property, which has resulted in fewer revenues collected.

Even if revenue continues to grow in Colorado, TABOR caps government spending, which ties the hands of lawmakers.

“The unspoken story of Amendment 66 is we actually had a policy to undo part of the constitutional Gordian knot…” explained Johnston. “By defeating Amendment 66, now you put the foot on the accelerator for Colorado going off that cliff without an off ramp or brakes in the vehicle.

“There’s going to have to be a serious conversation on what you do on Amendment 23 and TABOR and Gallagher because we at least would have bought the state a decade on that, but now you’re on the highway where in 10 years the government funds nothing but Medicare or K-12,” he added.

Big money, lots of attention

All eyes within the education reform world were on Colorado to see if the state could lead the way. The initiative garnered an incredible $10.3 million in contributions from education reform groups, teachers’ unions and famous philanthropists from across the nation, such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill and Melinda Gates, among others.

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal wrote op-eds, and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan watched the initiative closely.

Proponents blasted the airwaves with constant television and radio advertising. They also orchestrated an impressive canvassing strategy in which volunteers pounded the pavement to get out the vote. Johnston himself was knocking on doors right up until the polls closed.

The Colorado Education Association was one of the most vocal supporters, having contributed $2 million to the campaign. The National Education Association donated another $2 million.

The union was criticized for supporting Amendment 66 because it is also considering a lawsuit to overturn parts of a 2010 education reform measure.

Senate Bill 191 implemented tenure and accountability reform, as well as a new teacher evaluation system. Amendment 66 would have funded many of the reforms in SB 191.

Kerrie Dallman, president of the Colorado Education Association, said her organization supported the drive following cuts to K-12 of more than $1 billion. She is worried that more unfunded reforms may be coming.

“We would caution the upcoming Colorado General Assembly against adding any new education reforms to this over-burdened education system,” said Dallman.

“Districts will continue to carry the weight of implementing education reforms passed during those years as unfunded mandates by the Colorado Legislature,” she continued. “We believe the reforms contained in Amendment 66 are a critical part of improving education going forward, and we’re disappointed that the failure of Amendment 66 leaves these education reforms unfunded.”

Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, said much of the nation was counting on Colorado to pave the way.

“The National Education Association joined CEA as a major campaign contributor behind ‘Yes on 66’ because Colorado is using the right approach to bring more fairness and equality to education funding,” said Roekel.

“The nation needs Colorado to try again — the stakes are too high to give up,” Roekel added.

Hickenlooper has no regrets; GOP piles on

The significance wasn’t lost on Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who somehow became the focus of Amendment 66 by opponents. Hickenlooper was never overly active in advocating for its passage, though he unequivocally supported the measure.

The governor is known for winning on tax increases. When Referendum C was being pushed in 2005, then-Denver Mayor Hickenlooper jumped out of an airplane for a commercial supporting the drive. But there were no sensational stunts performed by the governor this time around.

“This wasn’t the year to inject a political personality into a campaign like this,” Hickenlooper said from the Marriott, joking that he is still recovering from hip surgery and couldn’t have jumped out of a plane even if he wanted to. “I could have jumped out of five airplanes, I don’t think it would have made any difference.”

The governor believes Amendment 66 was doomed by outside forces that proponents had little control over. The recent federal government shutdown has left most Americans sour and bitter about government, which he believes translated at the polls.

“There’s a certain number of voters right now who are so disenchanted with government that they’re not going to support anything,” opined Hickenlooper.

He has no regrets about having supported the measure, despite the political attacks that he received as he prepares for a re-election battle against a supercharged Republican Party next year.

“We understood that this was going to be a risk, but you don’t win everything…” Hickenlooper explained. “The reward to say that Colorado has the best public education system in the country, that’s worth it.”

But that hasn’t stopped the GOP from piling on. From the beginning, Republicans argued that the initiative was costly on families still struggling to work themselves out of the recession.

Republican gubernatorial candidates suggest that the governor’s support indicates that he is out of touch with the desire of Coloradans. They believe the initiative served as a referendum on Hickenlooper, who is still being attacked over his support this year of gun control and a new rural renewable energy standard, among other controversial decisions.

“The voters of Colorado are once again rejecting John Hickenlooper’s agenda,” remarked former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Lakewood Republican who is seeking his party’s nomination to challenge Hickenlooper. “The governor continues to over-reach and the voters are tired of it.

“I think the question must now be asked, ‘Is Hickenlooper simply tone deaf or does he blatantly ignore Coloradans and pursue his own agenda?” Tancredo continued. “He seems to lose his hearing when it comes to the voices of Coloradans — but he has no trouble hearing when his marching orders come from outside billionaires.”

Former Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, who has also joined the Republican gubernatorial primary, agreed that Coloradans sent a message to the governor.

“His radical plan to raise the state income tax on working Coloradans by $1 billion would be a disaster for our economy,” opined Kopp. “Coloradans are ready for new leadership that empowers individuals, not government, and puts our great state on a path to prosperity for decades to come.”

Colorado GOP Chairman Ryan Call said the initiative’s defeat was “Hickenlooper’s huge election loss.”

“The embarrassing defeat comes despite Hickenlooper enlisting his out-of-state friends, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to drop millions into the race,” said Call.

He likened the loss to the recent recall elections, in which two Senate Democrats were ousted from office over their support of gun control.

“This is the third major election loss for Gov. John Hickenlooper in just two months,” said Call. “The people of Colorado clearly reject his radical agenda that is hurting families, small business owners and senior citizens.”

Education reform without a tax increase?

Amendment 66 opponents pointed out that the initiative did not have widespread support from the business community, which feared that a heavy tax burden would be placed on them. And opponents worried that the money would turn into a slush fund, in which school districts would misappropriate resources.

One fear was that the money would be used to backfill unfunded pension liabilities. Another concern was that there wouldn’t be an appropriate metrics system to measure progress as it relates to spending.

“Colorado families spoke loud and clear,” said Kelly Maher, executive director of the conservative Compass Colorado, which led the opposition. “We need substantive outcome-driven reforms to the educational system before we ask families and small businesses to foot a major tax bill.

“The stunning margins of failure show that never has so much been spent by so few to accomplish so little,” she added.

Amy Oliver Cooke, executive vice president of the Independence Institute, a libertarian think tank that was also a vocal critic, watched the results come in with a big smile on her face from the opposition’s watch night headquarters at the Independence Institute in Denver. Cooke said a tax increase is not needed to fund education reforms.

“We can be innovative, we can be on the cutting edge of reform, and it doesn’t take a billion dollars per year to do it,” she said.

“We can reward teachers as they deserve, and we can keep effective teachers, we can provide choice in education, educational freedom, and we don’t have to raise taxes to do it,” Cooke continued. “Coloradans didn’t just say ‘no.’ This was a resounding ‘no’… They said ‘hell no!’”

Cooke suggested a more free market approach that includes tax credits for such things as scholarships.

“The beauty of choice is that it’s competition, and that raises everybody’s expectations,” opined Cooke.

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled their education agenda for the upcoming legislative session that begins in January. The priorities include school spending transparency, reforms to student counts, capital construction, transportation equity for charter schools and English language proficiency.

Republicans believe parts of SB 213 can be implemented without a tax increase.

“House Republicans are listening to Colorado and have found ways to enact education reforms without requiring a massive tax increase,” said House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso of Loveland. “The reforms we have proposed will have a very positive impact on our schools and will do so in a way that keeps our economic recovery on track.”

Senate Republicans are also hopeful that they can push education reform measures that are more in line with the will of voters.

“Colorado voters were quite clear and I am hopeful that the proposals we see in the coming legislative session will be reflective of the will of the people…” remarked Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman of Colorado Springs. “I mean those who actually live here.”

Amendment 66: a $1 billion bust

The Denver Post

Craig Walker

November 6, 2013

The drubbing of Amendment 66 Tuesday may have been a defeat for education reform and funding equity, but we understand why so many voters were reluctant to support the measure. The recession is over but times are still tough for many families, incomes remain in the doldrums and educational bureaucracies are not terribly trustworthy.

Throw into that mix a complex, billion-dollar tax proposal and most voters, it turns out, didn't want to go near it. They rejected the amendment decisively even though most of them probably never heard a single extended argument against it.

They couldn't have heard one, actually, given the lopsided nature of the public debate.

The pro-66 side raised more than $10 million that it lavished on advertising, messaging and get-out-the-vote efforts, thanks in part to huge donations from teachers unions, Michael Bloomberg, and Bill and Melinda Gates.

Opponents meanwhile had barely the equivalent of a street-corner megaphone at their disposal. And yet Colorado voters, in another display of independence, ignored the prodding in one direction and chose to go their own way.

They didn't merely defeat Amendment 66. They demolished the idea that voters are putty in the hands of consultants, alluring ads and expert appeals. It's not a new lesson, but one that needs to be relearned occasionally given the persistent claims that money buys elections.

Money usually helps, of course, but it's not always pivotal. And in this case it seems hardly to have helped at all.

Unfortunately, the admirable reforms and program expansions that Amendment 66 would have paid for, authorized by Senate Bill 213, won't go into effect now. SB 213 was contingent on more funding for at-risk students, preschoolers, full-day kindergarten, and a variety of other programs and innovations. It was the capstone of recent state reform measures and it can't be implemented without more revenue.

So will the reforms fall by the wayside? Under the bill, Coloradans have until November 2017 to fund them. So supporters could return in two or three years with another tax plan that might be more palatable.

After Tuesday's loss, however, it's hard to see how they could go back to the ballot without a new reform plan, too.

Lawmakers not only passed SB 213, of course, but several other measures that alienated a vocal swath of the electorate — the early evidence being this year's two Senate recalls. But even alienated voters have their limits, and we're pleased to report that the misguided 51st state initiative ran aground in several counties.

Meanwhile, with the easy passage of Proposition AA, the state will at least have money to properly regulate new retail marijuana outlets scheduled to open in two months. The world is watching to see how Colorado manages this foray into uncharted territory, and it is critical the state not scrimp on oversight. Now it won't have to.

In other important results, the reform agenda of Denver schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg fortunately appears safe for the time being after board candidates who supported it prevailed.

And a different but also important education reform agenda apparently survived a determined challenge in Douglas County.

But the big news of the night, clearly, was the decisive manner in which voters rejected Amendment 66. To the question of whether the state should raise the income tax, Coloradans didn't just say no. They shouted it.

Colorado Voters Reject School Funding Change

KKTV 11

November 6, 2013

Colorado voters have rejected a $1 billion income tax hike for school funding.

Amendment 66, rejected Tuesday night, would have created wholesale changes for how Colorado funds public education -- from expanded preschool to more money for K-12 schools with high numbers of at-risk students.

11 News caught up with Jan Tanner, a supporter of Amendment 66 and president of the District 11 Board of Education prior to the election and again on Tuesday to get her thoughts.

"This was our real chance to get out there and get our message out," Tanner said. "If its going down we're not getting the message out -- but it doesn't mean there's not a need in our districts...we definitely need to restore the funding we've lost in the past five years."

The measure would have raised income taxes from 4.63 percent to 5 percent for taxable income up to $75,000 a year. Income above $75,000 would have been taxed at 5.9 percent.

Colorado Treasurer Walker Stapleton issued the following statement on Colorado voters rejecting Amendment 66.

"Coloradans rejected an imperfect bill to reform our education system that left open too many unanswered questions. Having spent the last eight months arguing that this particular bill was not the right path for Coloradans, tonight's result does not mean education reform is dead in Colorado. We will go back to the drawing board to reform our vitally important public education system the right way."

The school funding overhaul was approved by lawmakers earlier this year but required voter approval to take effect.

Amendment 66's loss means that Colorado will retain a flat income tax structure in place since the 1980s.

A66 Goes Down: Measure would have created new taxes to fund school funding overhaul

Our Colorado News

Vic Vela

November 6, 2013

A ballot measure that sought to overhaul the way that Colorado schools are funded suffered a sound defeat on Nov. 5.

Voters by a resounding margin rejected Amendment 66 on Election Night, a measure that would have created at least $950 million in new taxes annually to fund major school reforms across the state.

It was never close. After early returns showed the measure to be doomed, the only matters in question were how wide of a margin the ballot measure would fail and at what time would supporters publically admit defeat - that occurred about an hour after 7 p.m. poll closings.

As of the early morning of Nov. 6, Amendment 66 had been rejected by about 66 percent of voters, with 91 percent precincts reporting.

"Perhaps this wasn't the right transaction," Gov. John Hickenlooper acknowledged to a room of muted and disappointed supporters from inside downtown Denver's Marriot Denver City Center.

Trying to remain positive, the governor also said that "no one fought against" the measure's vision of making funding for Colorado schools a model for the rest of the nation. Hickenlooper said he will continue to strive toward achieving that goal.

"Every great social victory in the history of this country was based on a number of failures," Hickenlooper said.

Meanwhile, Amendment 66 opponents crowed.

“Colorado families spoke loud and clear,” said Kelly Maher, executive director of Compass Colorado, a group that worked to oppose Amendment 66. “We need substantive outcome-driven reforms to the educational system before we ask families and small businesses to foot a major tax bill."

The measure sought to fund full-day kindergarten, preschool for at-risk youth and would have provided more resources for English language learners, special education students and children who are in gifted and talented programs.

Additionally, the measure aimed to reduce class sizes and would have reformed per-pupil funding statewide in a more equitable fashion, proponents argued.

While the reforms may have sounded good to many people, even the governor acknowledged that the hefty price tag associated with overhauling the new funding system was responsible for turning off many voters.

The measure would have raised taxes on all Colorado taxpayers. The two-tiered proposal would raise income taxes to 5 percent on everyone earning $75,000 or less. Those who earn over that amount would pay 5 percent on the first $75,000 in taxable income and 5.9 percent on taxable income above $75,000.

Colorado's current income tax rate is a flat 4.63 percent, regardless of income level.

The measure sought to put in place Legislation that was enacted through Senate Bill 213. The Democrat-sponsored bill - which was signed by Hickenlooper in June - did not receive a single vote from Republican lawmakers.

Republicans and other critics blasted the school funding overhaul as a "billion dollar tax hike" that comes at a time when Coloradans are barely coming out of a recession. They also argued that Senate Bill 213 did not put in place the kind of reforms to warrant that kind of a tax increase.

Opponents also argued that much of the revenue that would have been raised through Amendment 66 would have ended up going to school districts other than the ones where taxpayers' children attend.

The measure was rejected in just about every area of the state. For example, late returns showed that the measure was failing badly in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, El Paso and Jefferson Counties. The only large counties that could end up seeing majority support when the votes are officially tallied are Denver and Boulder.

The campaign that drove Amendment 66, Colorado Commits to Kids, had a huge fundraising advantage over its opposition, having collected more than $9 million for the measure's messaging efforts.

"Honestly, you could have had the best messaging in the world, I just think that people felt it was too expensive," Hickenlooper told reporters after his remarks.

Maher said afterward, "Never has so much been spent by so few to accomplish so little."

Colorado Rejects Move for Schools as Casino Fails in Massachusetts

The New York Times

Jack Healy

November 5, 2013

DENVER — Colorado voters on Tuesday rejected one of the most sweeping school-financing measures in the nation this year, according to The Associated Press, deciding that the promise of smaller class sizes, full-day kindergarten and smarter education spending was not worth the price of a tax increase.

The vote was a major defeat for teachers’ unions and the state’s governor, John W. Hickenlooper, a Democrat who campaigned heavily in support of the measure to provide $1 billion mostly for educational improvements. It was also a blow to charter-school advocates and a group of deep-pocketed philanthropists who had supported the effort as a rare opportunity to infuse new money into poor and struggling schools. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York contributed $1 million, as did Bill and Melinda Gates, whose foundation is a major contributor to education projects.

Opponents of the education measure were vastly outspent, but they offered a simple argument to voters leery of higher taxes, saying that the increase would hurt job creation, cost small businesses money and bruise the state’s economic recovery, with no guarantees that the changes would actually work.

The vote came one year after Californians approved a $6 billion tax increase to shore up the state’s finances and schools. But, unlike in California, voters in Colorado sent a message that they were unwilling to shoulder higher taxes, even in the name of a popular issue like education.

“Just taking money and throwing it at a broken system is not what’s going to make the education system better,” said Kelly Maher, executive director of Compass Colorado, which opposed the ballot measure.

Speaking to disappointed supporters, Mr. Hickenlooper said: “Every great social victory in the history of this country is based on a number of failures, whether you’re talking about civil rights or women’s suffrage — go down the list. We’ll keep working at this.”

The tax increase was subject to approval by voters because of the strict limits on new taxes and spending that Colorado voters enacted 20 years ago. The proposal touched off a fevered public campaign and stirred sharp divides between Democrats and Republicans, even as many voters puzzled over how it would affect their schools and their children.

While Colorado’s voters and government have recently moved in a Democratic direction, twice supporting President Obama and embracing legalized marijuana and same-sex civil unions, analysts had said it was uncertain whether that trend would extend to pocketbook issues like income taxes.

Colorado was one of many states this year where Election Day battles focused on ballot measures or local issues rather than governor’s races. Taxes, schools, marijuana, oil drilling, casino gambling, genetically modified foods and secession were all put to votes.

A less polarizing issue in Colorado was a proposal, approved on Tuesday, to set a 25 percent tax on recreational marijuana, which state voters made legal last November.

With the state preparing to allow licensed retailers to sell marijuana to recreational adult users, lawmakers and many marijuana-related businesses said the tax was needed to fund a new system of regulations and enforcement.

In Massachusetts, voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal that sought to bring a gleaming $1 billion resort casino to the fading Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston, according to The A.P. After a heated campaign that pitted the promise of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in new investments against worries about crime and gambling addiction, voters in East Boston and the adjacent town of Revere voted against a dramatic new addition to their neighborhoods.

The vote was a victory for the opposition group No Eastie Casino, which ran a shoestring campaign and was vastly outspent by proponents. Many small-business owners in East Boston believed the casino would siphon off whatever discretionary money people had, and No Eastie Casino asserted that gambling would snarl traffic and increase drug use and crime.

Supporters of the casino, including Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, who sent his troops into the area on Election Day to pull out “yes” votes, said that it would bring the communities 4,000 jobs and an infusion of money for things like new roads.

Even before Tuesday, the fate of the Massachusetts measure had been thrown into doubt when the state gambling commission raised questions last month about the suitability of Suffolk Downs’s partner at the time, Caesars Entertainment, to operate the casino. Suffolk asked Caesars to withdraw from the bid, which it did.

Chip Tuttle, the chief operating officer of Suffolk Downs, told reporters that he was not certain how the track would proceed, but the apparently lopsided vote against the casino could well have doomed the effort.

Spot Live: Kelly Maher, Craig Hughes discuss Amendment 66, marijuana taxes day after Colorado election 2013

The Denver Post- The Spot

November 6, 2013

Democratic strategist Craig Hughes and Republican strategist Kelly Maher join us to dissect the 2013 Colorado election that saw the fall of Amendment 66 — a $1 billion tax increase for public schools. Plus we discuss what — if any — political implications could result for Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper’s 2014 bid for re-election.

Amendment 66 results: Income tax hike loses big

Fox 31

November 5, 2013

DENVER — Amendment 66, a major overhaul of education financing that would have provided nearly $1 billion in additional revenue for Colorado schools, was resoundingly defeated Tuesday night, as voters were unwilling to approve the two-tiered income tax necessary to fund the reform model.

The first batch of returns from the Secretary of State’s office, released just after polls closed at 7 p.m., showed the measure losing by a two-to-one margin.

With 612,495 votes counted, Amendment 66 was losing with 65 percent of voters opposed and 35 percent of voters in support.

The Yes on 66 campaign was discouraged at low voter turnout over the weekend, and at polls showing independent voters rejecting the tax increase.

The proposal would have done away with the current 4.63 percent flat income tax rate, replacing it with a 5 percent rate on income up to $75,000 and a 5.9 percent rate on all income above that.

“It’s just the wrong time to be asking people to give the government more of their money,” one campaign operative told FOX31 Denver, citing the recent focus on problems with the Affordable Care Act and a dysfunctional Congress as reasons why taxpayers might have been unwilling to fund the initiative.

Opponents of Amendment 66 were dramatically outspent — the Yes on 66 campaign raised more than $10 million overall – and they’re relishing the apparent victory.

“Colorado families spoke loud and clear,” said Kelly Maher, executive director of Compass Colorado. “We need substantive outcome-driven reforms to the educational system before we ask families and small businesses to foot a major tax bill. Governor Hickenlooper has continued his march leftward, and Coloradans have clearly told him today that he’s lost his ‘moderate’ status.

“The proponents spent well in excess of $10 million to market this tax increase to Coloradans and the stunning margins of failure show that never has so much been spent by so few to accomplish so little.”

Coupled with the successful recall elections that saw two Democratic state lawmakers booted from office in September, a backlash for their support of controversial gun control laws, Tuesday night’s defeat of Amendment 66 makes two defeats in a row for a Democratic machine in Colorado that rarely loses.

“It’s not just taxes. It’s not just the recalls. Either one is isolated,” said Rob Witwer, a former Republican state lawmaker from Evergreen. “Together, it spells backlash to the Democrats’ overreach.”

The new rates would have meant an additional $950 million annually in school funding, going to full-day kindergarten across the state and to set aside additional per pupil funding for students who don’t speak English or come from poor families.

Even with Colorado ranked near the bottom when it comes to per pupil spending, the tax hike was a tough sell.

The Yes on 66 campaign, thanks to late $1 million contributions from Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates, has raised more than $10 million to try and convince voters that the proposal means “Big Change, Small Price,” as its television commercials conclude.

Opponents have raised almost nothing to fight Amendment 66, and yet supporters of the measure still believe they’re the ones fighting an uphill battle.

Both sides were nervous Monday night, even slightly pessimistic about their prospects. The Yes on 66 campaign is discouraged that only 847,660 votes have been cast statewide as of Monday morning — they’d hoped to be over 1 million at this point — with registered Republicans having turned in roughly 76,000 more ballots than registered Democrats.

The Colorado Observer


Leslie Jorgensen

October 25, 2013

 

DENVER – Gov. John Hickenlooper not only agreed to promote the $1 billion income tax for public education, he pushed the tax hike in his State of the State address in January in the wake of his so-called TBD (To Be Determined) initiative last year.

 

Instead of jumping out of airplanes to promote the mega-tax bite or “coming clean” in a campaign shower TV ad, Hickenlooper has taken a backseat. This week, he cautiously endorsed Amendment 66 in an email blitz to his re-election campaign fans – riddled with misleading statements.

 

“Education is one of the most important investments we can make in our kids and our state,” said the Hickenlooper For Governor message bearing his signature.

 

“In Colorado, every kid deserves a great education, from at-risk students to gifted and talented students, regardless of whether they’re from the Eastern Plains, the Western Slope or the Front Range, from the inner city or from a suburban neighborhood,” he said.

 

“That’s why a broad coalition of leaders from business and education communities is supporting Amendment 66,” asserted Hickenlooper on Monday.

 

Is the governor’s listening tour stalled on Route 66?

 

On Tuesday, Colorado Concern joined a growing number of business leadership entities opposed to Amendment 66 including the state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Club 20 on the Western Slope, Action 22 in Southeast Colorado, Douglas County Business Alliance, the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce as well as chambers in Arvada, Castle Pines, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Greater Glendale, Highlands Ranch and Loveland.

 

Colorado Concern, a coalition of state business and education leaders, opposes the nearly $1 billion-a-year income tax hike because the teachers union, Colorado Education Association (CEA), intends to file a lawsuit after the November election to strip teacher accountability standards from education reforms enacted in 2010 under Senate Bill 191.

 

“(It) felt disingenuous at best,” said Colorado Concern’s statement. “Ensuring that the decision to litigate occurred after the election lacked the transparency we believe voters deserve.”

 

Earlier this month Hickenlooper claimed that he had tried to halt the lawsuit and failed, but vowed to protect SB 191 reforms on behalf of the state. Yet, the governor didn’t mention the pending litigation in his email promoting Amendment 66 this week.

 

“This investment will modernize our schools and fund reforms approved by the General Assembly,” said Hickenlooper, who also promised the tax hike would ensure half-day preschool and full-day kindergarten in all schools, lower class size, help charter schools and hire effective teachers.

 

Those promises, according to critics, are not guaranteed by the passage of Amendment 66 or in reform laws enacted by Hickenlooper and Gov. Bill Ritter.

 

“Just as important is what this ballot initiative means for Colorado’s businesses,” declared Hickenlooper.

 

“If we’re successful, this initiative will benefit the entire state by creating a better educated workforce for existing businesses – making us more appealing to people thinking about starting a new business or relocating an existing business to Colorado.”

 

But, an analysis by the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry (CACI) of data provided by the state Department of Revenue concluded that 94 percent of business which file individual income tax returns will be hit with higher taxes – some will take a 28 percent higher hit.

 

“For CACI, it’s the category of “business” that has been of great interest because the proponents appear to be downplaying the effect of Amendment 66 on the business community,” stated the Colorado Chamber of Commerce website.

 

The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate index ranked Colorado 19th in the nation this year, a dismal rating compared to Wyoming, ranked number 1, followed by South Dakota and Nevada, second and third respectively. Utah and Texas ranked 9th and 11th – eclipsing Colorado.

 

Colorado’s business ranking has fallen over the past three years – the decline will likely continue if voters approve Amendment 66. These statistics could answer a question raised by NFIB Colorado Director Tony Gagliardi in a Colorado Springs Gazette interview.

 

“I think the question is: why do you not see bipartisan support for (Amendment 66)?” he asked. “They’ve gone so far to say businesses support it. We say, show us the businesses.”

 

Colorado Succeeds, a pro-education business group, jumped on board the Amendment 66 bandwagon this week. Unions, including the National Education Association, Colorado Education Association and Greater Education Colorado, support and fund the Colorado Commits to Kids campaign to pass Amendment 66.

 

“I’m voting yes (and will turn in my ballot) by Nov. 5. Friends, please join us in committing to Colorado’s kids,” declared Hickenlooper, finally endorsing Amendment 66 at the end of the email to his re-election campaign buds.

Journal-Advocate

Sandra Fish

October 24, 2013

Teachers unions and several wealthy Coloradans are spending millions to convince voters to agree to almost $1 billion annually in higher income taxes devoted to public schools.

But they face an uphill battle with an electorate that rarely agrees to increase taxes. And opponents of the measure say they'd like to spend at least $1 million in the fight, though the sources of that money likely won't be revealed.

Amendment 66 would raise the state income tax rate from 4.63 percent to 5 percent on the first $75,000 of taxable income and to 5.9 percent on taxable income beyond $75,000. It would be the first tiered income tax since a single tax rate was adopted in 1988.

I-News Network at Rocky Mountain PBS and Maplight are teaming up on VotersEdge.org/Colorado, a website offering details about the proposal's pros and cons, its funding and daily updates on news stories. The site also offers information on Proposition AA, which would place taxes on retail marijuana sales statewide.

Amendment 66 would raise about $950 million a year in the first year and about $1 billion after that. And it would require that 43 percent of the state's general fund go to pre-K-12 public schools.

The initiative would fund a revamped school finance formula that would give more money to districts with higher proportions of at-risk and non-English speaking students, as well as increased funding for preschool and kindergarten students.

It's a more complex proposal than those in the past - including a 2011 effort that would have temporarily raised sales and income taxes for education, but lost with only 36 percent of the vote.

"That was a temporary fix, and it didn't have widespread initial support," said Curtis Hubbard of the 2011 effort.

Hubbard is a spokesman for Colorado Commits to Kids, the pro-Amendment 66 group that raised more than $7.7 million through Oct. 9.

Despite promises that money will go to classrooms as specified by the legislature's Senate Bill 213, which revises the school finance formula but will not take effect if Amendment 66 doesn't pass, not everyone is convinced.

Norma Anderson was in the state legislature for 19 years, serving as both House and Senate majority leader. She was a key author of the 1994 school finance act, which would be replaced by Amendment 66, and she is still active in education efforts.

A Republican, Anderson is one of the leaders of Coloradans for Real Education Reform, a primary opponent to the tax hike.

"My concern on this, it's a budget nightmare, and you're tying up the general fund in the Constitution," she said. "It's too much money, and I'm not sure it's going to the right places."

Hubbard counters that the bill changing the funding formula requires annual audits of spending, a website to allow the public to compare how money is spent and a return-on-investment study every four years.

Backed by Gov. John Hickenlooper, at least 25 school districts and several local chambers of commerce, Colorado Commits to Kids spent more than $1.4 million to collect signatures to put the issue on the ballot, and is now spending on television advertisements, fliers and other strategies to support the initiative.

That compares with $7,605 for Kids Before Unions and $14,500 for Coloradans for Real Education Reform. The Independence Institute, a libertarian Denver think tank, donated $10,800 to the latter group.

An Independence Institute program, Kids Are First, is running television ads against Amendment 66. As a nonprofit, the organization doesn't have to file disclosures with the Colorado Secretary of State. The Kids Are First donation page says it has raised $668,025 of a $1 million goal.

"I'd love to spend $1 million," said Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, though he said some of the advertising is coming from the think tank's general budget. "As a (nonprofit) organization, we don't report to the secretary of state."

Backers of Amendment 66 are disclosing their donors, though, revealing some of Colorado's deep pockets in campaign finance.

The bulk of that money comes from large donors. Among them:

•The National Education Association gave $2 million through Oct. 9.

•The Colorado Education Association gave $2 million.

•Pat Stryker, the medical technology heiress from Fort Collins, gave $825,000.

•The Gary Community Investment Co., operated by Sam Gary, founder of the Piton Foundation, gave $700,000.

•Education Reform Now, a national nonprofit, and Ben Walton, a Wal-Mart heir, each gave $500,000.

•Other six-figure donors include David Merage, $254,314; Rose Community Foundation, $200,000; Stand for Children, $103,409; and Kaiser Permanente Financial Services Operations and Davita Total Renal Care at $100,000 each.

Since voters approved the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in 1992, they also must ratify any state or local tax increase, even if it's to retain tax money that exceeds the TABOR financial formula.

Of 16 funding proposals since 1993, voters have approved only five. One of those, Amendment 23 in 2000, didn't increase taxes or fees - it simply required lawmakers to increase spending on K-12 schools.

Two years ago, voters defeated an effort to raise income and sales taxes for five years to fund education.

Supporters hope that emphasizing benefits for individual school districts will sway voters this time around. Last Saturday, supporters of Amendment 66 organized to campaign for the measure in 15 communities, including Greeley, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Durango, Steamboat Springs and others.

Carol Hedges, executive director of the Colorado Fiscal Institute, is optimistic about the 2013 proposal.

"I think Amendment 66 is the best opportunity we've had to actually pass a measure that will provide additional funding for school reform," she said. "The recession really underscored for people how important education is to economic opportunity."

The Pueblo Chieftain

Jeff Tucker

October 24, 2013

Action 22, a regional advocacy organization representing 22 Southern Colorado counties, has announced its opposition to Amendment 66, a ballot measure to raise millions of dollars for public schools.

In a statement released this week, the organization said the measure would further complicate the state budget by injecting conflicting amendments into the state constitution and requiring that 43 percent of the state budget be used to fund kindergarten through 12th-grade education.

It also said the proposed “two-tier” income tax structure was unfair to small businesses.

“Nowhere are there accountability measures or performance requirements to our education system,” the release said. “Adding more money into the system is unhealthy. Real reform is needed.”

The statement goes on to say that Action 22 continues to support public education and is ready to help with any effort to bring reform, accountability and increased performance to the system.