Opponents of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights in Wisconsin Wednesday pointed to a recent vote by Colorado citizens to put their state TABOR law on hold, saying Colorado's decision should be viewed as a setback for the proposed law in the Badger State. But supporters of the law insisted the legislation still works.
In Colorado, residents voted to defer the state's TABOR law by passing a state referendum by a slim 52 percent Tuesday — a move that will give the state a $3.7 billion boost in funding over the next five years by suspending tax refunds.
Republicans in Wisconsin have drafted their own version of TABOR as a constitutional amendment, which would allow the Legislature to pass the bill and put the legislation to a public referendum without the approval of Gov. Jim Doyle.
State Rep. Frank Lasee, R-Bellevue, the author of current TABOR legislation in the state, said TABOR "empowers" voters.
If the state government needed additional funding, officials would have to put the issue to a public vote through a referendum, where voters would decide whether to give the extra money through taxes, Lasee added.
"What TABOR will do for Wisconsin is put the voters back in charge of how big their government is," Lasee said, adding the purpose of the law is to cut government excess and save taxpayers money.
However, Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison, said TABOR laws could ravage the state's ability to provide services to citizens if spending is limited and there are not enough resources to go around. For example, Parisi said the quality of emergency services could suffer greatly, which would hurt taxpayers.
"[TABOR] takes away the flexibility of local governments to react to certain situations," Parisi said. "Voters in Colorado found out it wasn't as good as it sounded because their school systems and local governments began to starve."
Parisi added TABOR is a "simplistic" solution to the greater problem of unequal taxation in the state, where large corporations are able to dodge paying their fair share of taxes, placing an undue burden on regular taxpayers and a strain on government funds.
Nonetheless, TABOR may soon reach the Assembly and Senate floors.
Lasee said both Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, and Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, have "promised" the TABOR legislation will be voted on sometime in the current session.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and a union representing government workers denounced TABOR, saying what occurred in Colorado is a sign TABOR is not good for Wisconsin.
"Colorado voters once thought TABOR sounded good, but now that it's just about wrecked their state, they are left trying to undo the damage," Marty Beil, executive director of AFSCME Council 24, said in a release. "We shouldn't need to wreck our universities, roads and parks to realize up front that this is a bad idea."
Though opponents of TABOR said it would lead to recession in Wisconsin — as in Colorado — Lasee said the move by voters in Colorado is a case of "TABOR in action." It proves the law works because residents in the state were able to choose, he said.
"I wouldn't call it a failure at all," Lasee said. "It doesn't take TABOR out of existence. … That's exactly what TABOR's supposed to do. Whether they voted for it or against it, [voters] got the opportunity as taxpayers to say yes or no."
