state constitutions

Will the Supreme Court strike down bigoted state constitutional rules?0
- January 12, 2020
[T]he history of anti-sectarian clauses shows that “sectarian” is not a synonym for “religious” and anti-sectarian clauses were not designed merely to discriminate against religion. Instead, they were designed to discriminate in favor of some religions and against others.
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Colorado's Billion-Dollar Tax Hike Proposal: Really Bad Constitution-Writing 0
- September 22, 2013
Hear Justin Longo’s interview with Rob on Amendment 66. Colorado’s Amendment 66—the billion dollar tax hike—is a constitutional monstrosity. Amendment 66 is, technically, not entirely a constitutional amendment. It is an unusual hybrid of constitutional amendment and change in the state tax law. The secretary of state refers to it as Initiative 22, and it
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Independence Institute Moves to Protect TABOR in U.S. Court of Appeals 0
- March 5, 2013
The Independence Institute is once again defending the Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights against attack. II has filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals, shooting holes in the plaintiffs’ claim that allowing the people to check the state legislature’s financial powers is somehow “unrepublican.” The national think
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New Issue Paper on the Interstate Threat of the anti-TABOR Lawsuit 0
- March 5, 2013
As regular readers of this site know, a group of plaintiffs representing government interests has sued the State of Colorado, claiming that the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) in the state constitution violates the U.S. Constitution. Even though the claim is an exceptionally weak one, last year a federal district court allowed it to proceed.
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New II Issue Paper Rebuts Myth that Citizen Review of Laws and Taxes Violates the Republican Form 0
- October 26, 2012
If you are exposed to enough politics, sooner or later you’ll hear the old saw that the U.S. is “a republic and not a democracy.” Along with that saying goes the following claim: Allowing voter initiatives and referenda is unconstitutional: If a state lets voters enact laws or veto tax hikes, the state is too
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