Date: 07/29/2009

Final
Andrew Romanoff

INTERIM COMMISSION TO STUDY FISCAL STABILITY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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09:52 AM -- Presentation by Andrew Romanoff on Solutions for Fiscal Stability

Andrew Romanoff, former Speaker of the House, described his experiences addressing fiscal stability as a legislator. He stated that identifying the fiscal problems is the first step and the second step is identifying how the problems can be solved. He described Amendment 59, which proposed that the timeout on the TABOR revenue limit under Referendum C be made permanent, the sunset of Amendment 23, and funding of a rainy day fund. He encouraged that the legislature propose ballot measures to address state fiscal stability issues. He also discussed his proposal for reform involving suspension of the single subject rule for a specified amount of time and for a specific purpose in order to put a multi-subject proposal on the ballot addressing reforms to the state's fiscal structure.


10:02 AM

Mr. Romanoff indicated that the state cannot just look at cutting costs; structural changes are needed. Responding to Representative Gerou's question regarding voter support for proposals like Amendment 59 and suspending the single subject rule, Mr. Romanoff indicated that there may not be support for suspending the single subject rule unless the rule is only suspended for one or two legislative sessions and that the suspension only apply to the specified purpose of fiscal stability. He also cited the historical context of the failure of Amendment 59, citing that the problems Amendment 59 intended to fix were not immediately apparent to voters. He responded to commission member Timothy Hume's question regarding a rainy day fund, indicating that such a fund should have enough but not too many restrictions such that it is be used as intended. Concluding his remarks, he indicated that Colorado has the strictest limits on government growth in the nation.