CO Campaign Finance Law Struck Down

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Former Rep. Kathleen Curry.

The Coloradoan and the Herald reported last week that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of La Plata County Commissioner Joelle Riddle and, by extension, former State Representative Kathleen Curry of Gunnison in their suit challenging Colorado's campaign finance limits. 

In 2010, Curry ran a write-in campaign as an independent candidate. The fact that she was having to run as a write in is yet another form of discrimination against independent candidates, but that's a separate issue. 

The case involved Colorado's limit of individual contributions of $200 per election. If that number seems wrong to you, it's because that number raises to $400 if you are running as a Democrat or Republican, since you might have a primary, (but probably won't). 

In the 2010 election, despite running as a write in, Curry lost by only 359 votes. If she had been able to raise double the money, like each of her opponents, she certainly could have won. 

In the review of the case, 590 State House and Senate candidates from the Dem and GOP parties were examined and it was determined that only 63 of them had actually faced a primary challenge. Yet, all of them had been allowed to collect twice as much per individual donor and to use all of that money during months immediately before the general election. 

Colorado will now be forced to rethink it's campaign finance laws. One proposal is to copy the federal law and require separate accounts for primary and general election funds, and prohibit primary funds from being spent after the primary election date. Another option is to simply drop the charade of primary vs general funds and just let all candidates collect up to $400 regardless of party affiliation. Either way, Colorado election law is a little bit more fair today.  

I support People, not Parties. I support Ideas, not Ideologies. I am an independent voter.

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School Finance Campaign Pre-Buts Opposition

A lengthy release yesterday from Colorado Commits to Kids summarizes and rebuts in advance the arguments against this year's ballot initiative to raise revenue for public education via a two-tiered progressive income tax increase. As an added bonus, what may soon be known as the "Yes on Amendment 66" campaign grabbed an opposition domain name, coloradansforrealeducationreform.com, and posted the same pre-buttal of opponents' talking points there:

3. FICTION: The Colorado Commits to Kids Initiative doesn’t include line-by-line transparency or accountability measures.
FACT: Districts are already subject to line by line accounting by way of Colorado's common chart of accounts. We will be adding the additional requirement that they not only report line by line relative to district spending, but also according to individual school spending. For example, we already require districts to report how much they spend as a district on reading coaches. We will now be requiring that they report how much they spend on reading coaches for individual schools. The same can be said about every other expenditure within a district. (3)
Additionally, Senate Bill 213 requires the state to publish regular reports that will be used to continually improve our system. The first will determine how much funding is needed for schools to meet all the requirements in our state’s education policies and laws. A second report will look at the return on investment for taxpayers by examining the relationship between education spending and student outcomes. Together, these reports will be powerful tools to ensure Colorado’s education system is effective, efficient and ensuring students continue to achieve. (4)
4. FICTION: It doesn’t do enough for charters or school choice. 
FACT: Colorado has a robust school choice movement, but charter schools and district schools have not been funded equally. The Colorado Commits to Kids Initiative would support school choice by helping to provide equal funding to charter schools and district schools, ensuring that students receive the same support no matter the type of school they attend. (5)
Additionally, the financial transparency website mandated by SB 213 helps improve parental choice, as they are able to compare how schools spend money when deciding where to send their kids.  
5. FICTION: State Treasurer Walker Stapleton says nothing will prevent districts from simply taking the new money and, through “substitution,” using it to pay for other items – notably pension liability.
FACT: Similar to the current State Education Fund, money raised by Colorado Commits to Kids is constitutionally and statutorily prohibited from ever being used directly to fund PERA. It’s that simple.
6. FICTION: We don’t need to increase money for schools, as demonstrated by collections this year that exceeded projections:
FACT: The State Education Fund is currently not sufficient to support the annual and on-going needs of our students. The higher-than-expected revenues are largely one-time in nature and are not guaranteed to be available in future years. (6)

Because of the higher-than-expected revenues, the State Legislature transferred additional money into the State Education Fund. The additional money constitutes a one-time boost, however, and cannot be relied upon in future years. (7) According to the nonpartisan Legislative Council, it is not expected that these transfers will continue beyond the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Colorado requires on-going, sustainable funding to support our students via the reforms outlined in Senate Bill 213.
For more facts, visit www. ColoradoCommitstoKids.com
————–
CITATIONS

(1) Source: “Initiative 22” and CRS 22-54.5-102

(2) Source: “Initiative 22 title”

(3) Source: Senate Bill 213, p. 131

(4) Source: Ibid., pages  24-25.

(5) Source: Ibid., pages pgs 70-74.

(6) Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting, "The Colorado Outlook Economic and Fiscal Review" June 2013 and Colorado Legislative Council, "Economic and Revenue Forecast, June 2013" June 20, 2013.

(7) Transfer Of General Fund Surplus to State Ed Fund, HB12-1338, Sixty-eighth General Assembly (2012).

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School Finance Ballot Initiative Raises $1 Million

FOX 31's Eli Stokols:

Lawmakers passed legislation last session, hoping to change the way Colorado funds its schools, directing additional money to full-day kindergarten across the state and distributing more money per pupil to districts with higher percentages of at-risk students.

But none of it will take effect unless voters approve $950 million in new tax revenues to pay for it.

Initiative 22 would set a flat tax rate of 5 percent — up slightly from the current 4.6 percent rate — for all incomes of less than $75,000 a year.

But the proposal those earning more than that would see their income taxed at two different rates:  the 5 percent flat rate for income up to $75,000 annually and then a 5.9 percent rate for all earnings above that threshold.

And the Denver Post reports today:

Colorado Commits to Kids surpassed the $1 million mark in overall contributions with $739,250 taken in during the July reporting period. Combined with more than $260,000 raised in June, the effort moved to $1,081,550 primarily with the help of a few deep-pocketed donors.

The Post reports diverse funding sources for this campaign, ranging from Democrat Pat Stryker and Sam Gary of the Piton Foundation to the right-leaning education reform group Stand for Children. Along with backing from Gov. John Hickenlooper, Initiative 22's hefty war chest should underscore the seriousness of this effort compared to 2011's Proposition 103–which failed after attracting only tepid support. It's worth noting that some of the lack of support for Proposition 103, particularly on the left, can be attributed to concerns that it doesn't raise enough revenue to address the problem. This latest initiative is no "band-aid," but a real attempt to solve the longstanding and growing problem of paying for public education in Colorado.

And unlike two years ago, this campaign will have the resources it needs to succeed.

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