BOARD01020

• Board Meeting Date: 9/21/1998
• Description: Rio Grande Basin Issues - Legislative Council Meeting on Initiatives
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

1 Revised staff language:

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Page 1, line 7.

,/ requires only melltbuJ (lfthe diJtrictlRRIGATORS that use water from the Rio Grande
River to pay the fee;

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Responder: William A. Paddock (Opponent)

Suggested change: Page 1, line 7, and page 2, line 20, delete references to "fees."

Basis for suggested change: The courts have detennined that payments similar to those required
by this measure are taxes and not fees. It would be a fee if the payment is used to defray the
operating costs of the federal pumping project. This payment, however, is intended to defray the
general goveI1U1lental expense of funding public schools. The analysis should refer to the monies as
"payments" if this recommendation is rejected.

Staff comment: Agree. The measure does not define the payments as fees or taxes. Therefore, the
ballot analysis should reflect the language in the measure and refer to these monies as payments.

Revised staff language:

Page 1, line 7.

,/ requires only men.be. J of the; diJt. ;c;t IRRIGATORS that use water from the Rio Grande
River to I"'J tI... fl;;I;; PAY FOR lBE WATER PUMPED FROM BENEATIf STATE TRUST
LANDS;

Page 2, line 20.

This proposal also requires that only 60 percellt of the irrigators who benefit from the project's water
paJ thG Gut;... f.:,.. PAY FOR ALL OF lBE WATER PUMPED FROM BENEATIf STATE TRUST LANDS.

.....n.........................................................uu..............

Responder: William A. Paddock, (Opponent)

Suggested change: Include information in the background about potential impacts from Article X,
Section 20 (7), the Taxpayer's Bill ofRights (TABOR), on the revenues collected under this measure.

Basis for suggested change: TABOR may require a refund of the money collected under this
measure if the 1998 election is not a voter approved revenue change and Colorado remains at its
constitutional spending limit. If so, the revenue raised by this measure must be refunded to taxpayers
of the state. Existing revenue sources would then be used to offset monies deposited in the Public
School Fund under this measure.

StafT comment: Disagree. This measure appears to be a voter-approved revenue change.
Therefore, the state could keep and spend the revenue collected under this measure.

August /4, 1998

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