38 House members give Rep. Doug Bruce a stick in the eye with sales tax bill

Communities across the state can raise their sales taxes above the state’s 6.9% statutory limit with passage of SB08-128. Over the vociferous protest of Representative Doug Bruce(R), the author of the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, SB08-128 eliminating the state’s sales tax cap passed the House of Representatives 38-26 Tuesday.

Sales tax bill violates the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, says Bruce

“This bill violates the constitution and the taxpayer bill of rights,” exclaimed Bruce. “It’s an absolute limit that has been in the constitution since before the taxpayer bill of rights was passed. To go from the current limit to no limit requires state voter approval – local people do not get to change state law.” Bruce insinuated that legislators who voted for the bill were not taking the state constitution seriously. “Do you want to be on record as supporting unlimited local sales taxes? Do you want to be on record as saying we will not honor the will of the voters in passing the tax payer bill of rights?”

Rep. Bob Gardner points to conflicting policies and goals

Representative Bob Gardner(R) did not appreciate Bruce’s tone or insinuation. “I resent the implication that anyone in this Chamber votes on anything unseriously. I do not question your <Bruce’s> commitment to your oath or to the constitution. What this bill does is bring in direct confrontation with each other some very important policies. It is not easy and I will not trivialize anyone’s decisions.”

Representative Gardner, along with Representative Kathleen Curry(D), noted that local governments had approached the House Local Government Committee on numerous occasions to request approval to bring a sales tax increase to their voters. SB08-128 allows local governments to have sales tax elections without coming to the state house first. Home rule cities such as Denver and Pueblo already have this ability, so the bill equalizes who can bring sales tax requests to voters without legislative approval.

Representative Gardner stated that the bill brings into conflict what individuals believe about the growth of government and taxation and who should make the decision. “It is the right of citizens in their communities to make these decisions, and I believe in local decisions. The legislature should get out of the business of dealing with numerous requests to raise taxes.”

Representative Curry added, “This is a simple bill – what is the role of this body – and shouldn’t local governments be able to make their own decisions about how much tax to levy. Local governments should be able to make their own decisions.”

Don’t words mean anything anymore?

Representative Bruce countered that “Words have to mean something – you can’t just take your affection for local government and ignore that words have meaning. You didn’t take an oath to obey only those sentences in the constitution that you like. This is plain English, and it’s at the junior high school level.”

Cities have to keep up with rising fuel costs

Representative Dorothy Butcher(D) was clearly annoyed with Bruce’s arguments. “I’m not sure what century you’re in,” she said, referring to Bruce. “But let me tell you how much diesel fuel costs today – up to $4 a gallon – and that’s what cities and counties have to pay to get their trucks out onto the roads. This bill gives jurisdictions the same rights as home rule districts have to raise their taxes. These jurisdictions don’t come to us irresponsibly to ask for more money. They come to get the funds they need to run their governments.”

Bill passage means huge change in state policy

Representative Kevin Lundberg(R) reminded his colleagues that this bill means “a big change in policy. It’s a statement that we will take the lid off the limitation on government that has been a part of the state for many, many years. As to the argument that the governments need this money to meet the cost of living, so do the people of Colorado.”

Tags: Colorado Senate Bill 128, colorado state legislature, Sales Tax for local governments in Colorado, Taxpayers Bill of Rights

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