Colorado Lawsuit Challenges Wisdom of Ballot Box
Few elected officials would ever dare say, at least within earshot of a microphone, that voters making public policy decisions through ballot-box referendums are less capable or wise than legislators deliberating under a capitol dome.
But now a federal lawsuit challenging Colorado’s 20-year-old taxpayer-controlled state budgeting process, known by its acronym, Tabor, is speaking truth to power, plaintiffs say, and challenging the assumption that voters always know best.
“For a long time people have been tweaking Tabor around the edges and avoiding a direct assault,” said Michael F. Feeley, an attorney who is representing the group of 33 plaintiffs — mostly current and former state legislators, local county and municipal officials and educators. “But now there’s political will, political courage and enough legal firepower to say, ‘enough’s enough — we’ve got to fix this.’ ”
On the surface, the suit seems technical, arguing that Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, generally considered the tightest cap on spending and taxation in the nation, blocks the ability and jurisdiction of the state Legislature to properly do its job.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/us/legal-challenge-to-colorados-tabor-amendment.html?pagewanted=all