The general election in November will define the political landscape in Colorado for the next several years. Not only will we elect a new governor, but also a United States senator, seven members of Congress, 65 members of the Colorado House of Representatives, 19 members of the Colorado Senate and many local officials.

Although each of these elections is important, I would argue that the most important votes you cast this November will not be for particular candidates, but rather for or against the many ballot questions on your ballot. Among those questions is a set of three proposals that will dramatically limit the ability of state and local governments to provide services by reducing certain taxes and fees. These measures are known as Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101.

Now, when it comes to taxes, I’m sure most of us believe that we already pay enough to our federal, state and local governments. At first blush, it may seem like it makes sense to cut taxes further in light of the sluggish economy. However, once you lift the hood on these proposals and examine the details, you soon find that they will have a devastating impact on our schools and other critical services offered by local governments.

Colorado’s legislature has already cut hundreds of millions of dollar from the general fund budget during the last two years. Further cuts of the magnitude required by Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 will seriously impair the ability of state and local governments to provide essential public services and facilities, such as schools, roads, social services and law enforcement.

Although these measures are extremely complicated and contain many different provisions, here is a brief summary of what they will do:

Amendment 60: Limits property taxes. This constitutional amendment requires school districts to reduce their mill levies by 50 percent between 2011 and 2020, and it requires the state to backfill the lost revenue with increased state spending for kindergarten through 12th grade education. It also repeals all local elections that have authorized local governments to retain property tax revenue above Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) limits. In other words, if your county voted to bypass the TABOR limits, this amendment would override that local decision.

Amendment 61: Prohibits debt. This constitutional amendment prohibits the state and all political subdivisions from borrowing money in any form, even as a short-term bridge to make payments until tax revenues are received, and it prohibits the extension of any term of current debt. It also requires government to reduce tax rates as outstanding debt is repaid. The measure allows local government debt only if the debt is bonded and the repayment period does not exceed 10 years.

Proposition 101: Limits state and local government revenue. This statutory amendment reduces the state income tax rate over time from 4.63 percent to 3.5 percent. It also reduces motor vehicle specific ownership taxes to $2 per new vehicle and $1 for older vehicles. It also eliminates taxes on vehicle rentals and reduces annual vehicle registration and title fees to $10 per vehicle.

According to the Colorado Legislative Council (the nonpartisan research agency of the Colorado General Assembly), if all of these measures were fully implemented in fiscal year 2010-11, the state would lose $2.1 billion in revenue while having to increase K-12 education funding by $1.6 billion. This would mean that 99 percent of the general fund budget would have to be used to fund K-12 education with no funds left to pay for the remaining government functions.

Now, why are the directors of the trade association for the electric co-ops weighing in on this topic? While our focus is usually on energy policy issues, from time to time our board of directors takes up subjects that have broader ramifications. In this case, we believe that all of Colorado would be negatively impacted by these measures, including co-op communities across the state.

We understand that there are differing views on the appropriate level of taxes and government in Colorado. However, we believe that these measures go too far in tying the hands of elected officials and are simply too radical for Colorado. Further, as a trade association, we are concerned with the ongoing efforts of certain interest groups to legislate via the initiative process rather than through our elected representatives.

For these reasons, the Colorado Rural Electric Association Board of Directors voted unanimously to oppose Amendments 60 and 61, and Proposition 101.
The board joins groups such the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, Club 20, Action 22, Progressive 15, the Colorado Farm Bureau and the leadership of both major political parties in opposing these initiatives.

I urge you to join these groups and community leaders throughout the state in their opposition to these misguided ballot measures.