The so-called Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which would limit state and local spending and require tax and fees increases that exceed the cap to go out to the public for a vote, will appear on a statewide ballot.
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap announced Tuesday that proponents of the referendum had gathered more than enough signatures to put the proposal before voters. Law requires 50,519 signatures and the number certified was 51,611.
“When people can put themselves in charge as taxpayers to decide all future tax increases, then I think that’s really news,” said Mary Adams, who organized the petition drive and believes the referendum will “eclipse” the general election in November.
That’s if it is on the November ballot.
The Legislature has the right to call a special election in June to consider the question along with a proposal for a racino in Washington County – another petition drive the Secretary of State is in the process of certifying. Speculation is some legislators would like to see a June vote so contentious ballot questions don’t become the issue in re-election campaigns.
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights or TABOR would tie the amount of state taxes and fees the Legislature can spend to the rate of inflation and population growth, and require any overrides to go out to the public for a vote. Any revenue collected in excess of the cap would be returned to taxpayers, save 20 percent, which would go into a rainy-day account. A similar spending limit would be imposed at the local level.
The proposal was first adopted in Colorado, but ran into trouble there after the state found it couldn’t pay for other things the taxpayers wanted, most notably K-12 education.
“The folks in Colorado discovered it doesn’t work very well for them,” said state Planning Director Martha Freeman, speaking on behalf of Governor John Baldacci, who was out of the State House when news of the referendum was announced. Colorado voters last year decided to suspend TABOR for five years to allow the state to collect more tax money.
“The TABOR referendum would not institute very wise policy for Maine,” Freeman said. “Taxpayer concerns already have been addressed very well in LD1.”
Freeman was referring to the governor’s tax bill that passed last year. She said it reduces property taxes and limits spending at all levels of government, but at the same time increases funding of K-12 education.
“LD1 was the right move for Maine and TABOR would be the wrong move,” Freeman said.
Mary Adams of Garland, who became known as a tax fighter when she helped repeal a statewide property tax in 1977, doesn’t think voters are happy yet.
“We’re sick and tired of being number 1 in the nation in state and local tax burden. We’re doing something about it,” she said.
Adams said the proposal would use money that exceeds the spending limit to reduce taxes or for cash rebates to taxpayers.
“Augusta will have to debate how to give us back money each year instead of trying to figure out how to get it away from us,” she said.
Adams said when the time comes she would make TABOR a campaign issue in not only the governor’s race but also in the Legislature.
“We want a TABOR-friendly Legislature,” she said, because even if the referendum passes, legislators can change it.
“We don’t want to get knifed in the back,” she said. “When it gets to the Legislature, we don’t want them chasing it around the corridors trying to kill it.”
Adams said the first order of business is to get a campaign started in support of the proposal.
“We begin now raising money, organizing, conducting the grassroots part of it and then getting the message out,” she said.
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