TBRC and State House plans for NEW Tax Amendment

[chris]

From http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flftaxes0325pnmar25,0,5339738.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Tax cap amendment plan seen as a caution light
March 25, 2008
TALLAHASSEE

A proposal to cap state and local taxes, fees and other revenue is more of a caution light than a stop sign, its sponsor says.

Florida's tax commission will decide Wednesday whether to give the proposed constitutional amendment a green light by putting it on the November ballot.

It's a version of what's known as the Taxpayers Bill of Rights that's been advocated nationally for more than a decade by conservative and libertarian groups to limit taxes and government growth. At least 30 states have some type of taxation or spending limit and three have both.

The proposal likely would be the most far-reaching revenue restraint Florida has seen. It would not be as restrictive, though, as the most prominent example in Colorado, where excess government revenues must be refunded to taxpayers, said Duval County Tax Collector Mike Hogan, who is sponsoring the proposal.

"Colorado's cap is pretty much a stoplight," Hogan said. "The Taxpayer Protection Amendment is more like a blinking yellow."

It does, though, includes the same basic features: revenue caps and a requirement that voters approve any future tax or fee increases.

Hogan's proposal would require either refunds or the transfer of excess money into reserve funds, leaving it to the Legislature to work out the details.

The 2007-08 fiscal year would serve as a baseline for the Florida caps, but revenue could increase in accord with inflation and population or, for school districts, student enrollment growth, plus 1 percent. Caps also could be exceeded through votes of more than a simple majority.

As now written, the proposal would require three-fourth votes by a local government body or both legislative chambers, but Hogan will offer his fellow members of the state Taxation and Budget Reform Commission a revised version Wednesday that would reduce it to two-thirds.

The new plan also would exempt from the amendment revenues from seaports, airports, government-owned utilities, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp., public universities and community colleges and the Florida Prepaid College Board if they do not subsidize other government activities.

Another new provision would let the Legislature make exceptions for local governments that have been "fiscally responsible" in recent years.

Hogan acknowledged those changes would make the proposal weaker than he prefers, but he's trying to win over commissioners who may be on the fence. It takes votes from at least 17 of the commission's 25 members to get on the ballot.

Based on committee action and debate, Hogan expects up to six solid no votes. He anticipates other commissioners also will propose changes.

A legislative analysis indicates the caps would have little if any affect on state government, but it does not cover local governments and school districts.

While Hogan's proposal may not be as strict as a taxpayers bill of rights, it has drawn some of the same criticism from associations representing local governments and school boards and liberal groups such as the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy.

One argument is that Colorado's plan has been a failure because voters suspended it in 2005 for five years, allowing the state to keep $3.7 billion that would have been refunded.

Bill of rights supporter Adam Guillett, Florida state director of Americans for Prosperity, said that vote proved it's working in Colorado because citizens rather than politicians made the decision.

Hogan's proposal also has been attacked for being contrary to representative government. Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Cragin Mosteller said tax or fee elections would be dominated by whichever special interest raises the most money.

Hogan disagreed, saying Colorado voters have approved most tax increases sought by local governments. That requirement, though, forces officials to justify the increases, he said.

The caps also would result in a loss of vital public services because local governments already are reeling from a revenue cap the Legislature ordered last year and Amendment 1, which voters approved Jan. 29 to reduce property taxes, Mosteller said.

Last week, the commission already approved for the Nov. 4 ballot a proposed constitutional amendment cutting property taxes about 25 percent by eliminating most money collected for schools.

It would require the Legislature to replace the school dollars by a combination of approaches that can include raising and broadening the sales tax and spending cuts.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

I wrote the following email several months ago in response to an article much like the one above, and sent it to everyone I could think of, from politicians to news outlets, and have gotten absolutely no response from anyone. In fact, I really haven't heard anything about this anywhere, which is kind of scary considering this could virtually destroy any hope of Florida becoming a livable place one day. This new Amendment is a reality, just like the forthcoming Marriage Amendment (#2), and we'll be seeing them both on the ballot in November. I submit to you my rant on poor governance.

4-3-08
Commission Members,

I am writing to you today as a student, concerned citizen, and a ninth-generation native Floridian. I have watched the events surrounding property tax reform with much concern, and this latest proposal signals another dramatic step in the wrong direction for our great state. I am deeply troubled by our current fervor over lower taxes and smaller government at any cost. Our state has long been a destination state because of our unique lifestyle, temperate climate and vibrant communities. However, over the last year, we have begun the great decline of government, which just so happened to coincide with a significant decline in economic stability. This decline is most evident in the reduction of services provided by the government that helped sustain the quality of life so enjoyed by our residents. I could spend all afternoon crafting arguments in favor of or against the role of government in providing services, but we have come to a point in our state's history that will most likely determine the next fifteen to twenty years of political culture. The State government is effectively impacting an entire generation of Floridians in a negative way, and hopefully you will agree with me after reading this letter.

We, as a state, have a collective responsibility to maintain a successful society that attempts to integrate all people into a cohesive unit, solidifying each individual's ability to become a successful and effective citizen. In the past providing economic, social and educational incentives to help build a bottom-to-top democracy, one that helps facilitate the pursuit of happiness and the protection of a discursive democracy, has accomplished this goal. With the boom of our housing market and the massive migrations to our warm climate, we have enjoyed long periods of economic stability and prosperity. This boom also created a problem with costs and this obviously creates issues when insurance and taxes are considered. I will not argue about what has already been decided by the recent referendum because there is no use wasting space on something that cannot be undone. However, understand that the real problem is not that property taxes are too high, or that local governments across the board are irresponsibly spending taxpayer dollars. The real problem is that our prosperity has created a cultural issue that is ingrained in everything that is Florida. "If you build it, they will come..." has been the State motto since Walt Disney opened his first park on what had been an orange grove. In a sense, we have been paving over the historical, cultural and social histories that make us uniquely Floridian in order to bring in more tourists and their overflowing wallets to spend their money in our markets. We have created an economy very much dependent on the burgeoning service sector and a divided class system that facilitates the stability of such a system. However, this economy is fragile, as evidenced by the problems resulting from the dramatic drop-off in tourism rates following the attacks of September 11th. So what can be done about this problem?

First of all, do not pass any more tax reform until you really look at what is important to Floridians. Changes to Bright Futures, Insurance Reform, Environmental Issues, and our troubled educational system are just a few of the things that should be looked at as they affect most everyone. However, I am a realist, and understand that the number one rule for politicians is to get reelected; by addressing tax reform, especially reforming a progressive tax such as our property tax, more money can be freed up from the deep-pocketed people that fund your numerous campaign expenses. But does that really serve the state? I think not. Our economy is dependent on people that benefit from the services funded from revenues generated by the property tax, and those same people that help prop up our economy are also hurt by a regressive tax like the sales tax or flat taxes such as the new fees being imposed by many municipalities to overcome the revenue shortfall. By decreasing the revenues generated by property taxes, you effectively "passed the buck" onto local governments, diverting blame for a decrease in service quality to the local level in the most sinister form of devolution since the reform of the Mental Health system at the Federal Level, and by passing this buck, you are impacting our economy from the upper and lower levels. We are freeing up more money for the rich by reducing their tax burden the greatest, but where will they spend that money if it becomes too expensive to survive on a service sector income? Where will our children learn the skills necessary to become competitive in the labor market if our public K-20 schools and municipal libraries are not adequately funded? What amenities will our citizens be able to enjoy if local governments cannot afford to maintain public parks, roads and community centers in any adequate fashion?

Secondly, realize that not all "taxes" should be considered "taxes." As mentioned before, we are all signers in a social contract that states we will work together for the common good. This common good includes our roads, public safety, water quality, generating electricity and a myriad other public services that benefit us all. This good also includes our commitment to the Equality of Opportunity that is tempered with a realization that not all opportunities are equally distributed. This is why our educational system is so important; for generations, public education has been the great equalizer, allowing all people, regardless of socio-economic or cultural background to at least attempt the storied American Dream. With these budget shortfalls, we are effectively limiting the opportunities afforded to our citizens, and are lessening the quality of life for everyone and ultimately the quality of our democracy in general. Perhaps this is not just a problem of redirecting blame, but also one of fundamental cultural issues that we are facing as a State.

Political culture in Florida has long been tailored to fit the needs of the time, much like it is everywhere. However, more than ever we need to be focusing on the needs of the future, because the time is upon us when the state of the State teeters on the brink between positive progression and cataclysmic regression. We as a state, and you as our lawmakers, need to start looking at the future of our educational system, and its ability to help foster the development of successfully integrated citizens; those that take an active part in every aspect of civil society and help promote the communitarian ideals of cooperative democracy. We have to start fostering ways to help each person help others if we are going to start asking the government to do less. We have to be creative and innovative in how we address the most basic problems from resource management to comprehensive transportation planning.

In sum, this proposal will generally hamper the established home-rule doctrine so loved by the citizens, it will serve to stifle the provision of services so necessary to help keep our state competitive as a residential destination with other state, and will also serve to impede the development of our future citizen leaders. We must be constantly searching for ways to serve our citizens to the best of our ability, not just by listening to their concerns, but also by looking at the effects of our decisions on the future of our State. By tempering the will of the people with the reality of the times, we can succeed in this endeavor, but only if we stop listening to the rich few that fill the coffers, and start listening to the masses that make this state a livable place. We need to start listening to the concerns of those that do not have time to write emails or call their representatives, because they are the ones keeping Florida alive. I call on you to step up to this responsibility as representatives of all citizens and ask you to reject Proposal CP 45 on the grounds that it would not serve our state in the long term and would negatively impact a majority of Floridians.

Sincerely,
Chris Arsenault

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