March 13, 2009 11:17 PM UTC

No More Games on SB 228: A Future of Fiscal Sanity

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• by: COFPI

(What they said – promoted by Colorado Pols)

As SB 228 appears to be headed for final passage in the Senate early next week, with momentum building and a broad coalition of supporters growing, we wanted to set the record straight on some points.  There’s been a lot of misinformation, plenty of political games, and a tired push by opponents toward the failed policies of the past.  

SB 228 is a budget reform bill that will help lift Colorado out of the recession quicker and get rid of an outdated budget formula-what is effectively an earmark-that has plagued the state in the past.  

Today’s Denver Post editorial said they were “heartened” by talk of a compromise between Republicans and Democrats on SB 228.  However, many of the proposals are not compromises.  Rather, they are recycled, failed policies that do not plug the leaks in the sinking ship that is our state budget.

A temporary lifting of the Arveschoug-Bird budget formula does not help shorten the recession, nor does it fix the unintended consequence of ratcheting down state investments in key priorities.  That’s why SB 228 is so important, because it’s a long-term reform that can also help address current economic challenges.

SB 228 addresses how money is spent, not how much.  As the Post itself asserts, the bill “wouldn’t raise taxes” and wouldn’t affect families’ “finances one way or the other.”  Since it doesn’t increase spending or taxes, and is really about setting budget priorities, it’s perfectly legitimate for the General Assembly to pass this bill.  In fact, this is the very kind of decision that the legislature should be making in a transparent, cost-effective, and accountable way.  Actually, sending this bill to the ballot would unnecessarily cost time and money, and further strip accountability from the legislature.    

The Denver Post asked for “a few years of fiscal sanity.”  More than 85 state and local groups representing hundreds of thousands of Coloradans are demanding a future of fiscal sanity, not just a few years.  SB 228 puts us on that path.  

Pursuing a temporary half-solution for a permanent systemic problem is a recipe for failure.  That’s the kind of piecemeal approach that has fueled Colorado’s chronic budget problems in the first place.

This is not a time to compromise with ourselves, and it’s not a time to play political games with our fiscal future.  This is a time for fresh ideas and workable solutions that will get Colorado out of the recession quicker and get our economy back on track.  That’s exactly what SB 228 aims to do.