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TEL ALERTS AND
INFORMATION
Blackwell’s
TEL/TABOR moved to ‘06 Ballot
Coalition will continue to educate and expand opposition
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and his Citizens for Tax Reform
has pulled their TEL/TABOR constitutional amendment from the ’05
ballot and has submitted petitions for the ’06 general election.
COHHIO and the Coalition for Ohio’s Future (CFOF) has vowed
to continue efforts to educate Ohioans about numerous problems in
the proposed amendment. The CFOF is a non-partisan, non-profit organization
consisting of over 150 endorsing groups, whose members include doctors,
firefighters, police and other public safety professionals, teachers,
business groups, labor, faith-based groups, senior citizens' advocates
and many more.
“It is clear that TEL/TABOR is not in the best interest of
public policy in the state of Ohio,” said Bill Faith, Executive
Director of COHHIO. “This tactical move will allow our Coalition
to expand, recruit and continue to build our strategic opposition
to this effort. Ken Blackwell knew the issue would lose on the 2005
ballot, we will make so it will lose next year as well.”
The constitutional amendment would forever force state and local
governments to follow an unworkable and rigid budgeting formula.
Its inflexible spending formula eventually would under-fund critical
services that all Ohioans depend on such as public safety, senior
citizens services, education, healthcare and maintenance of roads,
bridges and highways.
Some of Blackwell’s support has been shaken by the move to
’06. Scott Pullins, president of the Ohio Taxpayers Association
stated "Blackwell says he is a friend of taxpayers, but nothing
could be further from the truth. Every time he gets involved, Ohioans
get shafted." Many lawmakers are also expressing their concern
with this proposal.
"My preference would be that it not take place," said
Senate President Bill Harris, who sees constitutional spending restraints
on state government as an impingement on representative Democracy.
The proposal, he added, "Takes away the flexibility to interact".
In addition, House Speaker Jon Husted said that a TEL was unnecessary.
What
is TEL?
TEL is a
proposed constitutional spending limit that
will hold expenditure growth to inflation plus population or 3.5%
and would require a popular vote to override. TEL
will result in drastic cuts to state and local government expenditures
because state spending will be tied up to an artificial cap based
on the consumer price index and population growth. TEL is a limit
on spending not on taxation.
This
so called "Taxpayer's Bill of Rights" would forever put
in place a rigid and inflexible fiscal policy.
For more information, visit http://ohiosfuture.org.
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