Referendum C

Referendum C, passed by voters in 2005, allows state services to recover from cuts made during the 2001-03 downturn or that might be made during future recessions. It does this by bypassing TABOR???s ???ratchet effect.???

Our goal was to take the current state General Fund budget and extend it six years into the future. Looking Forward estimates how much it will cost to keep pace with growth in the major forces that are driving the budgets in each area.

Colorado state government collects revenues from a variety of sources, and divides them into specific types of funds. The legislature appropriates money from these funds to pay for state government activities. State law places limits and restrictions on how the legislature can use the money from each type of fund.

The revenue portion of the Looking Forward project involved projecting state revenues for one final year of the six-year study period, FY 2012-13. For the first five fiscal years in the study period, we used the Colorado Legislative Council staff revenue projections published in September 2007.

Colorado uses appropriations for capital construction to construct, maintain or renovate buildings or roads. In addition, capital appropriations can be used to purchase land or equipment (in excess of $50,000), including information technology systems.

Overview

State economists released quarterly estimates for state revenues on Wednesday. The Legislative Council staff and the governor????????s Office of State Planning and Budgeting see continued growth in Colorado????????s economy. Both agencies project the state will retain more revenue in the current fiscal year than they estimated in March.

A message from Wade Buchanan, Bell Policy Center President, outlining the Bell's agenda for the coming year: to close the student achievement gap, make college affordable, expand health care coverage, help working families, counter misguided immigration reform and influence the policy debate in the 2006 election.

Article: A message from the Bell Staff, Carol Hedges and Laurie Zeller ??? our votes for MVP, Ref C investments should promote opportunity, Replacing cynicism with confidence in the public???s view of government, Where to from here?

Articles: Gov. Owens spells out Ref C spending in budget plan, What the press is saying about spending Ref C money, What the Ref D failure means for Ref C revenues, How deep the hurt? Restoring past budget cuts will cost millions, More praise for "tireless campaigners"