TABOR Refunds Targeted By Proposed Ballot Measure

DENVER (AP) — A group of bipartisan civic leaders has launched a campaign to get a measure on the 2016 ballot asking voters to ease a revenue cap on state government.

Dan Ritchie, co-chair of Building a Better Colorado, tells Colorado Public Radio the state's education needs aren't being met and streets need to be better maintained.

If passed, the measure's backers say state funds could be spent fixing potholes and reducing class sizes in schools instead of being refunded to taxpayers.

Voters enshrined the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, in the state constitution in 1992 as a way to limit the growth of government. TABOR's revenue cap mandates that the state send out tax refunds when revenue collection outpaces population growth and inflation.

Backers will have to gather 98,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.