TABOR Lawsuit
Kerr et al. v. Hickenlooper
United States District Court for Colorado :: Civil Action No. 11-cv-1350-WJM-BNB
United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit :: No. 12-1445
A Constitutional Challenge to Colorado's "Taxpayer Bill of Rights"
* * * * * *
Kerr v. Hickenlooper is a lawsuit in federal district court in Colorado. The Plaintiffs (current and past Colorado state legislators, public officials, educators, administrators and private citizens) have sued to overturn the Taxpayer Bill of Rights ("TABOR"). TABOR is an amendment to the Colorado Constitution passed by the voters in 1992. Among its many provisions, TABOR removed from the legislature (and all other levels of state government) the power to enact tax legislation; instead, it requires a plebiscite to approve any new tax measures. This key area of public policy is put off limits to the normal functions of representative institutions -- proposals, hearings about impacts, consideration of other interests and alternatives, deliberation, and compromise. In eliminating an essential fiscal power of the Colorado General Assembly, the Plaintiffs claim that TABOR has fundamentally undermined the ability of Colorado’s representative democracy to function and that, as a result, the state no longer has a "republican form of government." A republican form of government is, however, guaranteed to all states under the Guarantee Clause (Article IV, section 4) of the United States Constitution and also is required to be maintained in the Colorado State Constitution by federal statute (the Colorado Statehood Act of 1875). TABOR thus violates Article IV, section 4, and the requirements of the Statehood Act, and should be invalidated by the court.
Kerr et al. v. Hickenlooper
United States District Court for Colorado :: Civil Action No. 11-cv-1350-WJM-BNB
United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit :: No. 12-1445
A Constitutional Challenge to Colorado's "Taxpayer Bill of Rights"
* * * * * *
Kerr v. Hickenlooper is a lawsuit in federal district court in Colorado. The Plaintiffs (current and past Colorado state legislators, public officials, educators, administrators and private citizens) have sued to overturn the Taxpayer Bill of Rights ("TABOR"). TABOR is an amendment to the Colorado Constitution passed by the voters in 1992. Among its many provisions, TABOR removed from the legislature (and all other levels of state government) the power to enact tax legislation; instead, it requires a plebiscite to approve any new tax measures. This key area of public policy is put off limits to the normal functions of representative institutions -- proposals, hearings about impacts, consideration of other interests and alternatives, deliberation, and compromise. In eliminating an essential fiscal power of the Colorado General Assembly, the Plaintiffs claim that TABOR has fundamentally undermined the ability of Colorado’s representative democracy to function and that, as a result, the state no longer has a "republican form of government." A republican form of government is, however, guaranteed to all states under the Guarantee Clause (Article IV, section 4) of the United States Constitution and also is required to be maintained in the Colorado State Constitution by federal statute (the Colorado Statehood Act of 1875). TABOR thus violates Article IV, section 4, and the requirements of the Statehood Act, and should be invalidated by the court.