Colorado Republican Warns Ohio: TABOR is a Proven Failure; -'The Coalition for Ohio's Future,' A Growing, Non-Partisan, Statewide Organization Will Lead Efforts to Oppose the TABOR Amendment Proposal in Ohio-.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- A former Republican chairman of both the Colorado Joint Budget Committee and House Appropriations Committee said today that the constitutional amendment to set expenditure limits on state and local governments in that state is a failure, causing severe setbacks to economic development, education, infrastructure and healthcare. Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, passed in 1992. This November, that state will vote on a reform proposal to retain revenue and restore some deteriorated public services.

"The proposed amendment here in Ohio is, at its core, the same as the one in Colorado -- its impact would be the same," said Brad Young, the former Colorado Republican legislator. "After twelve years, TABOR is now forcing the state to make draconian cuts to key government programs, especially in higher education and human services. There is no money for capital construction and maintenance or for transportation. Businesses are very concerned that our community colleges and universities are not getting the resources they need to produce a good workforce; health care and infrastructure cuts have created a less attractive business climate for companies to relocate jobs. TABOR will do the same thing here in Ohio."

Young continued, "TABOR may look like a good idea but I can tell you first hand that it does not work. The problems compound year after year. Since Ohio's budget and economy are already in tough shape, in my view this is the wrong policy, for the wrong state, at the wrong time."

A proposal very similar to the Colorado TABOR initiative is currently under consideration in Ohio. The Coalition for Ohio's Future, a growing, broad-based organization starting with more than 100 Ohio groups and associations and representing over two million Ohioans, announced its formation and plans to oppose the Ohio version of a proposed TABOR constitutional amendment. A list of current coalition members is attached.

"We are beginning a significant, non-partisan, grassroots campaign to educate Ohioans about the debilitating impact a TABOR amendment would have on our state's economy and our ability to budget responsibly," said John Corlett, senior fellow and director of public policy and advocacy for the Center for Community Solutions in Ohio. "So far, Colorado is the only state in the nation to have amended its constitution to adopt a TABOR and it is a proven failure."

The Coalition for Ohio's Future unveiled a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a national non-profit policy institute, which was presented by CBPP Policy Analyst David Bradley. The study found that had TABOR been in place for the last decade, a cumulative total of $19 billion would have been cut from state expenditures for programs and services. The report notes that the damage TABOR does to public services starts small and grows larger every year. In 2003, for example, the last year for which full data are available, these cuts could have included the following if every area in the budget were cut proportionally:

   - A $900 million reduction in K-12 education spending, potentially
     forcing Ohio to raise class sizes, due to the need to eliminate 15,272
     teachers.

   - A $450 million cut in Medicaid spending.  To cut $450 million Ohio
     could eliminate 200,000 children from health care coverage and end
     prescription drug coverage for 700,000 adult Medicaid beneficiaries who
     are not enrolled in Medicare and still have to make other deep
     reductions in eligibility and benefits.

   - A $260 million cut in public safety funding, possibly requiring Ohio to
     parole 11,000 inmates early due to lack of funding or cut more than
     half of the security personnel at prison facilities.

   - A $408 million cut to higher education, which could end state financial
     aid for 90,000 Ohio students or require an in-state tuition hike of
     $1,200.

CONTACT: John Corlett, [phone], for The Coalition for Ohio's Future