Date of Award
11-1-2008
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences
First Advisor
Matthew Wilson, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Katherine Freeman
Third Advisor
Tracy Mott
Fourth Advisor
Susan Sterett
Keywords
Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), Colorado state budget, Taxpayer generated laws
Abstract
Colorado's constitutional Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is a product of the citizen initiative process, a mechanism of direct democracy that allows citizens to circumvent legislatures and enact laws themselves. A prominent argument against this process is that such a mode of lawmaking can generate conflicts within state constitutions and bring about unintended consequences. This paper considers the Colorado state budget difficulties that arose during the 2001 recession, the relationship of TABOR and those difficulties, and finds that TABOR resulted in unintended consequences that were unforeseen by voters who approved the measure. Examples of these unanticipated, unintended consequences include: significant budget cuts for higher education, reductions in state mental health services, and insufficiencies within the TABOR law regarding how TABOR refunds were to be made.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Zak Brewer
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
76 p.
Recommended Citation
Brewer, Zak, "A Study of Colorado's TABOR Law and Its Influence on Public Finance During the 2001 Recession" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 86.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/86
Copyright date
2008
Discipline
Finance