Amendments 60, 61, 101

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While sensible tax policy is critical to attract business and industry to Colorado, Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 would devastate job creation and retention. Amendment 60 and Proposition 101 will squeeze school budgets, demanding 8,000 teacher lay offs today and threatening our ability to educate a cutting edge work force for tomorrow. Amendment 61 would make new construction projects difficult, if not impossible, at a cost of 21,000 construction jobs.

This trend will repeat across all sectors of the state until 73,000 jobs-both public and private-vanish. The measures will also harm tourism, a vital economic engine in the state, by limiting or eliminating state funding for services at state treasures like the Colorado National Monument and at our state parks and by inhibiting local government support for arts and recreation that currently attract visitors from around the country and the world. To make the situation worse, these measures will deter new business development in Colorado. Key government enterprises-like utilities and DIA-will face higher costs, both because they will face new property taxes under Amendment 60 and because Amendment 61's borrowing restrictions will make capital investments more expensive in the short term. These increased costs will be passed on directly to the consumers, including businesses.

On top of higher costs, businesses will find a state no longer able to provide the basic services they need to thrive. Between the loss of state revenue and the required increases in education funding, the combined measures would require 99% of the General Fund budget to go to K-12 education, leaving little money for other critical areas. Infrastructure will be a key victim of these measures, which will decimate funding and restrict financing. Colorado businesses, like all Coloradans, rely on the state's infrastructure.

Proposition 101 would cut $72 million dollars used to subsidize rural telecommunications and would slash CDOT's budget by 27%, while Amendment 61 will leave state and local governments no alternative ways to finance crucial maintenance and improvements. The truth is that businesses simply will not want to relocate to a crumbling state, no matter how favorable the tax rates are.