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Session turned on judges' decision
But state lawmakers' main battle this year was against economy
Herald Denver Bureau
The Legislature wrapped up its yearly session Wednesday, and although the 120 days were filled with dramas and disappointments for many elected lawmakers, it was five judges who wrote what might be the lasting legacy of the session.
On March 16, the state Supreme Court delivered an opinion that conservative plaintiffs did not want to hear regarding their 2007 lawsuit over school property-tax rates.
Legislators did have the power to freeze the tax rates, the justices said, and what's more, they have much broader power over taxes than anyone thought, despite the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.
Four days later, lawmakers received bad news from their economists: The recession had hit Colorado harder than they expected, and the budget would have to be cut once again.
It wasn't hard to see how the budget crisis and the newfound power over taxes could lead lawmakers - especially the majority Democrats - to take a hard look at the tax breaks the Legislature has doled out over the years.
"They'll effectively raise taxes on Coloradans using that Supreme Court decision," said House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker.
Indeed, the Legislature did pare back tax breaks for cigarettes and capital gains. But the cigarette tax break will be reinstated after two years, and some of the capital gains exemption was left in place at the urging of Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus.
Legislators are likely to scrutinize several other tax breaks this summer during a special committee they created to study the stability of the state budget. Gov. Bill Ritter wants to work closely with that panel, and he said Thursday he'd like to put together a TABOR reform question for the 2011 ballot.
Brutal budgetThe $37 million worth of tax breaks the Legislature repealed this year cover only a small fraction of the state's two-year, $1.5 billion shortfall.
The partisan budget debate pitted Democrats - who wanted to cover the gap by making one-time transfers out of savings accounts and the federal stimulus bill - against Republicans - who wanted permanent cuts to state government.
For the most part, the majority Democrats prevailed and avoided large cuts to social-welfare programs.
"We will look back on this past session and see what we really did is protect the very least among us," said Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver.
Republicans wanted more hard cuts, although the alternative plans they offered would not have covered the shortfall.
"There is this ticking time bomb the leadership in this building continues to ignore," said Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction.
Republicans in the Legislature say Penry is all but certain to challenge Ritter in the 2010 governor's race.
Partisanship started earlyThe possibility of a bipartisan effort to fight the recession faded early, when the parties split over increasing auto fees to pay for repairs to roads and bridges.
"The fact that the Republicans locked down on that and decided not to move it means that they see it as a political wedge issue, and we just saw it as too important to wait," Ritter said.
Conservative activists have threatened to sue over the auto fee, although they admit the March 16 Supreme Court opinion could make their case very hard to win.
The rancor got louder when Democrats and one Republican started to move a bill that raises the limit on the largest part of the state budget. Until now, if any money were left above that limit, it went to transportation. The bill that Democrats passed will guarantee five years of funding for highways starting in 2012, as long as the economy improves.
Even so, the highway budget will be a loser, Republicans said.
"You make modest gains in terms of funding, and then you move light years backwards," Penry said.
Uncomfortable votesGroff made impassioned pleas to his own party in favor of two divisive issues - in-state tuition for illegal immigrants and the repeal of the death penalty. He lost both, but he doesn't regret exposing Democrats to difficult choices that might be unpopular with voters.
"It would have been easy, I think, for us not to take up the hard issues, to kind of skirt around the edges," Groff said.
House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, who sponsored the death penalty bill, said much the same.
"If you're always worried about elections, if you're always worried about keeping your majority, you shouldn't be here anyway," said Weissmann, D-Louisville.
See you soon?
It's possible that legislators could be back in Denver this year, if the recession worsens and the budget has to be cut yet again.
"I assume we'll be back this year at some point," May said. "We have to shrink this government. We have to."
Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll doubts it. The Legislature has given Ritter authority to make cuts if needed, he said.
"It's highly unlikely that we'll have to call ourselves into special session," said Carroll, D-Denver.
But not all senior Democrats agree. Weissmann already has polled representatives on what weeks work for them in case a special session is needed. He wants to keep Ritter on a tight rope when it comes to power over the budget.
"My leash is short," Weissmann said.
jhanel@durangoherald.com
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