| First severance tax plan makes ballot |
|
|
| Written by Todd Engdahl | |
| Monday, August 18 2008 | |
|
The proposal to redirect some severance tax revenues to Interstate 70 improvements has been certified for the Nov. 4 ballot as Amendment 52. The measure joins seven other interest-group initiatives and four legislative referenda on what is promising to be a very crowded ballot this year. Petitions for seven other proposals await verification. Amendment 52 is seen as a counterproposal to Initiative No. 113, Gov. Bill Ritter’s proposal to eliminate a severance tax deduction to fund college scholarships and a number of environmental programs. Petitions for 113 still are being reviewed. The provisions of Amendment 52 would cap revenues to an existing state severance tax trust fund and direct revenues above that to a new transportation fund that would be used for I-70 improvements. Other revenues would continue to flow to a local government fund. Unlike Ritter’s proposal, the measure would leave severance tax rates unchanged. The plan is being pushing by a group of Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, and Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita. Proponents submitted 137,341 signatures, of which the secretary of state’s office verified 6,868 (5 percent). There were 4,699 valid signatures found in the sample, meaning a projected 93,969 of the total were valid. This year 76,047 signatures are required. Proponents of Ritter’s plan also submitted about 137,000 signatures. Also awaiting signature verification is Initiative No. 126, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff’s proposal to change the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and Amendment 23 to create a dedicated funding source for K-12 education. Amendment 50, which would allow changes in state casino gambling laws and create additional funding for community colleges, already is on the ballot. Comments (1)
 Write comment
|
|
| Last Updated ( Monday, August 18 2008 ) |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Our Partners
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
bringing 'our severance tax' back to western slopers is a novel idea!