Rep. Sean Camacho Gets Colorado’s TABOR Wildly Wrong
Democrat State Representative Sean Camacho recently penned a guest commentary for the Denver Post packed with false claims about Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Camacho argues that TABOR is a “Frankenstein’s monster” that grew beyond its noble intentions and its creators’ ability to contain it, and that it allows for corporate loopholes at […]
Alcohol ‘Fees’ Another End-Run Around Colorado Voter Consent
State legislators have introduced yet another end-run around the voter say-so on taxes guaranteed by Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), this time with House Bill 1271. While the bill’s TABOR-bypassing scheme is not new, it’s a fresh slap in the face to Coloradans who are tired of seeing state government dig deeper into their […]
Gov. Polis Eyes Taxpayer Refunds as Budget Wound Band-Aid
Colorado’s structural budget challenges continue to collide with wishful thinking and a lack of accountability. What’s more, Joint Budget Committee (JBC) analysts disagree with Governor Polis’ office on how best to address the state’s fiscal challenges. The JBC recently held a hearing with analyst Craig Harper, during which they discussed one of Polis’ primary revenue-raising […]
Medicaid’s ‘Perverse Incentives’ Tanking Colorado’s Budget
Colorado’s ongoing budget-gap struggles are the predictable result of structural problems with Medicaid. Paragon Health Institute, a non-partisan research institute, recently published a new report, Preserve and Improve Medicaid, which explains the program’s inherent challenges and how states such as Colorado can take advantage of One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) reforms to improve outcomes. However, […]
Colorado Lawmakers Cry Poverty, Give Handouts to Hollywood
In the latest edition of “why care about Colorado’s budget shortfall if our legislators won’t,” statehouse representatives recently voted to cut almost $750,000 from the Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media, only to reverse their decision later in the day. It’s that time of the year when the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) presents supplemental […]
Senate Bill 42: Latest Legislative Workaround to Revenue Limits
Similar to last year’s Senate Bill 173, legislative Democrats are returning this year with another effort to bypass Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) by reclassifying certain state revenue streams. While Senate Bill 26-042 may have some plausibility under specific TABOR terms, it raises broader concerns about the runaway growth of Colorado’s state government, and […]
Fiscal Policy Center’s Testimony on Bill to Reclassify TABOR Revenue
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, Independence Institute’s Fiscal Policy Center Policy Analyst Nash Herman submitted written testimony on SB26-042 to the Senate Finance Committee. If passed, the bill would reclassify certain revenue streams to align with the statutory definitions of “damage awards,” and “revenue collected for other governments,” carveouts created by the Taxpayer’s Bill of […]
Colorado’s sweetheart tax deals roll on in spite of budget shortfall
If Colorado legislators aren’t taking this year’s alleged “budget crisis” seriously, why should the rest of us? Only a couple of weeks into the regular session, lawmakers have already introduced more than a dozen bills that would create, continue, or expand special interest tax credits or deductions. If math is still a real thing, then […]
How TABOR was betrayed
This column first appeared in The Gazette on February 1st, 2026. If you have lived in Colorado for any length of time, you are likely familiar with the near-constant claims that TABOR’s limit on government growth restricts the state’s ability to fund essential services. Without TABOR, critics say, the state could fully fund schools, repair […]
Nash Herman Discusses How TABOR Failed to Stop Government Bloat
Independence Institute Policy Analyst Nash Herman appeared on The Mandy Connell Podcast this week to discuss his new report, Leviathan by Loophole: the Growth of Colorado’s State Government After TABOR. Despite claims that TABOR prevents the state from funding its needs, historical budget and economic data show that the state government continues to grow beyond the […]
Colorado lawmakers in denial over self-inflicted budget wound
In the wise words of Peter Tosh, “you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” Analysts from Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee (JBC) staff recently confirmed what we at Independence Institute have been saying since last January: “If all one-time revenue had been spent on one-time activities and […]
Leviathan by Loophole: the Growth of Colorado’s State Government After TABOR
Click here for a one-page summary of the report. Introduction and Key Findings In 1992, Coloradans passed Amendment 1 to enshrine Article X, Section 20, known as the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), in the state constitution.[1] The preferred interpretation of the measure, as stated in the ballot language, was to “reasonably restrain most the […]
