| The Colorado budget is full of limits, restrictions, and requirements creating a straitjacket that has made it increasingly difficult for the state to provide critical public services. Thanks to the excellent and persistent work of the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute (COFPI), Colorado is making progress toward loosening one of the tightest of those bonds: the Arveschoug-Bird "6%" limit.
First, a little background from the Denver Post:
Named after the lawmakers who sponsored the legislation in 1991, the provision limits growth in spending from the state's general fund - the pot of money from which most operating needs are drawn - to no more than 6 percent a year.
With few exceptions, the provision prohibits any money collected beyond the limit from going to operating needs - the ongoing costs of state government to run prisons, schools, colleges, health care and social services.
Separate laws say that any money collected beyond the 6 percent limit must go for roads and construction needs.
However, in years when the state's general-fund spending drops, Arveschoug-Bird limits spending growth in the fund for the next year to 6 percent - the so-called ratchet-down effect.
The realization that recession-level spending will be locked in for years to come by the 6% provision -- even after the economy recovers -- has thoughtful legislators on both sides of the aisle (as well as the Denver Post editorial board) considering reform and moving forward.
COFPI has prepared an extensive package of documents explaining why eliminating the Arveschoug-Bird provision is a) legal; b) in the state's best interest; and c) critical to maximizing the benefit of the federal stimulus package.
Great Ed will continue to work and to collaborate with groups like COFPI toward budget sanity and fiscally responsible solutions to our funding challenges. Stay tuned. |
