Letter to your State
Senator: TABOR/SB 7 & SB 707
June 18, 2007
Dear
LAMPa Advocate:
Please write a letter (model/draft
available for your use in Exhibit A below) and mail or fax it to your
State Senator as soon as possible (by this Thursday, June 21)
requesting her/him to vote against Senate Bill 7 and Senate Bill 707.
This legislation would impose restrictive spending caps on Pennsylvania's General Fund budget. If
enacted, spending caps would force significant cuts in health care,
education and other services upon which Pennsylvanians rely. (For
more information about this issue from a faith based perspective, please
see Exhibit B below for an op-ed (opinion editorial/guest column) that
we are seeking to place in as many PA newspapers as possible in the next
week.)
These caps are modeled after Colorado's TABOR constitutional amendment,
which was passed in 1992 and has proven the perils of this type of
restrictive formula. Under TABOR (a so-called Taxpayer Bill of
Rights), Colorado state budget cuts totaling about $1 billion in the
last several years were in areas such as Medicaid (nursing homes,
hospices, etc.), health care, education, probation officers, parole
officers, transportation, judicial budgets, etc. Within seven years Colorado voters went to the polls to increase
education funding as state support for education fell to unacceptable
levels. After Colorado's college tuition rose to the highest
in the nation, and its child immunization rates fell to the lowest,
voters rejected TABOR limits through a referendum in 2005. We need to
urge PA lawmakers to learn from this experience and save Pennsylvanians
from a similar fate.
TABOR would not simply slow the growth
of spending. Under this highly restrictive cap, state spending would be
drastically reduced over time, and lawmakers will be forced to make deep
and difficult cuts in services to our communities. According to an
analysis by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, had TABOR been in place over the
past 20 years, state spending would be almost 25%, one-quarter lower
than it is today. Imagine the school districts, libraries, mental
health, hospitals and nursing homes in PA today with 25% fewer state
dollars.
State spending limits will lead
inevitably to higher property taxes. As state support declines, the
cost of services will be pushed down to counties and school districts.
Pennsylvanians want affordable college
tuition, good public schools and reliable transportation. They want
assistance for vulnerable children and families. They want public
safety services that will keep them safe in their homes and communities.
They want the state to make critical investments that will improve
economic growth and ensure a better future for their children and
grandchildren. All of these will be jeopardized by this ill-conceived
legislation.
Legislators should vote to retain
decision-making authority over budget decisions, not to abdicate it.
Please send a letter via mail or fax to your State Senator ASAP and urge
him/her to oppose SB 7 and SB 707. It is important for Senators to know
that constituents reject the strict TABOR formula and believe that
spending on services is valuable to our communities.
If you need additional information or
have any questions about this issue, please contact me. Additional
information is also available in a letter from PA leaders to state
senators (Exhibit C below) that will be sent on
June 19, 2007
courtesy of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.
Grateful for your partnership in
advocacy ministry with and for the poor, vulnerable, disenfranchised,
and on behalf of all God’s creation, I remain...
Neil Harrison
P.S. It would be appreciated if you
would file a post-letter report with the LAMPa office (lamp@paonline.com)
as well including information about any advocacy you do on this issue
(including copies of letters sent).
P.S.S. If you don't have time to write
and send a letter, please consider email messages to your legislators.
ELCA Policy Base:
Sufficient, Sustainable
Livelihood For All, 1999
Towards Fairness In Public Taxing and
Spending, 1982 (American Lutheran Church Social Statement)
The Rev. Neil P. Harrison
Executive Director
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
245 Division Street, Suite 2
Harrisburg,
PA 17110-1213
(717) 232-9128
(717) 232-4155
(fax)
nharrison@lamp.org
www.lamp.org
EXHIBIT A
CALL
TO ACTION:
LETTER TO
YOUR STATE SENATOR RE: TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
You can find the contact
information (i.e. Harrisburg office address,
fax number, email) via the LAMPa website at
http://www.lamp.org or
by contacting our office at 717-232-9128. The second box in the menu
column on the left hand side of the home page is “Find Your Elected
Officials.”
June
__, 2007
The Honorable _________________
State Senator
Address
Harrisburg,
PA 17120-____
Dear
Senator __________________:
Please vote against Senate Bill 7 and
Senate Bill 707, which would impose restrictive spending caps on Pennsylvania's General Fund budget. If
enacted, spending caps would require significant cuts in health care,
education and other services upon which Pennsylvanians rely.
Let’s learn from the experience of Colorado and the decisions of other states to
reject spending caps and constitutional spending limits. Under TABOR
(Taxpayers Bill of Rights), Colorado state budget cuts totaling about $1
billion in the last several years were in areas such as Medicaid
(nursing homes, hospices, etc.), health care, education, probation
officers, parole officers, transportation, judicial budgets, etc.
Within seven years Colorado voters went to
the polls to increase education funding as state support for education
fell to unacceptable levels. After Colorado's college tuition rose to the highest
in the nation, and its child immunization rates fell to the lowest,
voters rejected TABOR limits through a referendum in 2005. Let’s save
Pennsylvanians from a similar fate.
Because of huge state budget cuts
caused by TABOR, many of the most vulnerable in Colorado lost access to services such as food,
housing, health care, education and disability services. As a person of
faith, I believe I am called to action to raise my voice on behalf of
those in greatest need. If any of us suffers, we all suffer.
As you know, Pennsylvanians want
affordable college tuition, good public schools and reliable
transportation. We also want the state to make critical investments
that will improve economic growth and ensure a better future for our
children and grandchildren. Furthermore, we want assistance for
vulnerable children and families. All of these will be jeopardized by
this ill-conceived legislation.
Please oppose SB 7 and SB 707. Thank
you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Home
Address
Phone
#
(You could choose to add paragraphs
or information from exhibits B and C below or your own information.)
EXHIBIT B
OP-ED (Opinion
Editorial/Guest Column)
for Immediate Placement in
PA Newspapers
Look between the Lines: “Protection” means
“Disaster”!
Over the next few weeks the Pennsylvania
Senate will consider a so-called “Taxpayer Protection Act.” Don’t be
fooled by the title. The proposal is very similar to the Taxpayers Bill
of Rights (TABOR) that Colorado adopted early
1990s. TABOR proved to be a disaster for governments, business,
taxpayers, children, the sick, the poor, and the powerless.
I know because I was there.
I was a pastor in Colorado when the economy
faltered during a three-year national recession starting in 2001, and
witnessed the devastating impact as the spending limits mandated by
TABOR forced the state to cut $1 billion in funding for services on
which thousands of citizens and businesses depended.
After 10 years of TABOR-induced
spending reductions in Colorado, the state could
not weather the recession. Over the years, higher education funding had
plunged by 31%. The share of low-income children lacking health
insurance doubled, and by 2006, Colorado ranked last in the 50 states in
providing poor kids with health insurance. The state declined from 23rd
to 48th
in the nation in the percentage of pregnant women receiving adequate
access to prenatal care. Colorado sank from 24th
to 50th
in the nation in the share of children receiving full vaccinations.
With this record of performance, is this the sort of results we want for
Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania Taxpayer protection proponents
will compare Colorado’s stronger
economic growth over the past decade to that of Pennsylvania. Yet they will probably also fail
to mention that every Rocky Mountain state experienced equally large
economic growth without government spending caps in place. In fact,
largely as a result of the economic damage done by TABOR, Colorado is the only Rocky Mountain state with fewer jobs today than
in 2001.
The fact that TABOR failed in Colorado was proven most dramatically when,
voting in a 2005 statewide referendum, Coloradoans decided to overturn
the TABOR provision for five years.
TABOR’s failure is its restrictive formula.
State lawmakers don’t control health care costs, prison populations or
education costs, which grow faster than the rate of inflation. In Colorado, this caused cuts in critical
transportation and higher education funding initially, but before long
it required cuts in everything. In 2005, Governor Bill Owens indicated
that the state would be forced to begin selective release of inmates
from state prisons because of the spending caps. TABOR isn’t about
making better decisions; it’s about making bad decisions for the sake of
a formula
The faith community became passionate about
the shocking results of TABOR and organized the Colorado Religious
Communities for the Common Good, the largest interfaith coalition in Colorado history, to oppose TABOR and roll
back its provisions. This broad based interfaith coalition represented
many faith traditions, including members from the Catholic, Protestant,
Jewish, Muslim, Mormon communities, as well as faith-based service
providers, the Colorado Council of Churches and the Interfaith
Alliance.
We joined in a huge coalition of
organizations and people, from all parties and walks of life—people of
faith, business owners and workers, local government officials,
children’s organizations, service providers, and grassroots
organizations who serve low-income and vulnerable populations--who
joined together in 2005 to support the Economic Recovery Act in
opposition to TABOR.
People of faith have always heard a
particular call to action to raise our voices on behalf of those in
greatest need and take action for justice. If any of us suffers, we all
suffer. Because of huge state budget cuts caused by TABOR, many of the
most vulnerable in Colorado lost access to services such as food,
housing, health care, education and disability services. These are
basic human needs for which we are all called to speak and act.
I urge Pennsylvanians to be wary of the
TABOR gimmick. The so-called Taxpayer Protection Act is a misnomer
guaranteed to limit Pennsylvania’s options at the time when the
Commonwealth is debating the best path to a brighter future. Do not
choose the path to disaster that we traveled in Colorado.
The Rev. Neil P. Harrison
Executive Director
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
Rev. Neil Harrison is the new
director of public policy and advocacy ministry for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
in Pennsylvania.
EXHIBIT
C
Letter
from PA Leaders to State Senators
(organized by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center)
June 19, 2007
To the Members of the Pennsylvania Senate
RE: SB 7 and SB 707
Dear Senators:
We write to urge your opposition to Senate Bill 7 and
Senate Bill 707, which would impose restrictive spending caps on Pennsylvania’s General Fund budget. If
enacted, spending caps would force significant cuts in health care,
education, and other services upon which Pennsylvanians rely.
These caps are modeled after Colorado’s TABOR constitutional amendment,
which was passed in 1992 and has proven the perils of this type of
restrictive formula. Within several years of implementing spending caps,
state support for K-12 education in Colorado fell to 49th in the nation. After
state funding for colleges and universities fell by 31% and Colorado’s rate of
on-time child immunization fell to 50th in the nation, Coloradoans voted
to set aside TABOR spending limits for at least five years and restore
cuts in services. We urge you to learn from Colorado’s bad experience and save
Pennsylvanians from a similar fate.
TABOR would not simply slow the growth of spending.
Under this highly restrictive cap, state spending would be drastically
reduced over time, and lawmakers would be forced to make deep and
difficult cuts in services to our communities. According to an analysis
by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, had TABOR been in place over the
past 20 years, state spending would be almost 25% lower than it is
today. Imagine the school districts, libraries, mental health
facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes in your districts operating
today with 25% fewer state dollars.
State spending limits will lead inevitably to higher
property taxes. As state support declines, the cost of services will be
pushed down to the local level. Counties and school districts will have
no choice but to raise local taxes.
Citizens and legislatures across the country have
rejected spending caps despite a concerted effort by national groups to
promote them. In 2006, the Oklahoma and Ohio
legislatures voted down constitutional spending limits, as did voters in
Maine, Nebraska, and Oregon.
TABOR proponents argue that state spending limits
will improve Pennsylvania’s economy, but there is little
evidence to support this claim. Colorado’s
nonpartisan Legislative Council found that “Colorado typically outperforms the nation” and
that “TABOR's contribution to the state's economic prosperity, if any,
cannot be statistically quantified.” In addition, a comprehensive study
by noted economists, published by the Economic Policy Institute, found
that Colorado’s economic
growth was about the same as it would have been without TABOR. Indeed,
while
Colorado’s economy outperformed the
US average both before and after
TABOR, its growth was not extraordinary when compared with its
neighboring states—none of which had a TABOR.
A Senate Finance Committee amendment would lower the
spending limit if the legislature enacts cuts to state-mandated programs
delivered by localities. This amendment could result in a spending limit
lower than TABOR’s already-restrictive formula. It will accelerate the
dismantling of services delivered by school districts, counties, towns
and boroughs.
According to the
County
Commissioners’ Association
of Pennsylvania, well over 80% of spending at the county level is for
state-mandated services. These include trial and incarceration of
criminals, investigating complaints of child abuse and neglect,
providing treatment services for alcohol and drug addiction, fixing
roads and administering elections. Local officials struggle to fully
meet the current demand for services. Without funding, they will have no
choice but to scale back services, or raise taxes to pay for those
services, such as prisons and courts, over which they have little
discretion.
The evidence is clear that, when they have any
option, citizens would prefer to maintain services than live with cuts.
In Colorado, voters in 88% of all municipalities
and 92% of counties have voted to override TABOR limits and forego tax
rebates.
Through TABOR, state legislators are forcing both the
human and the political consequences of their decisions onto local
officials and local citizens. It is not a responsible policy but a
cynical gimmick that citizens and voters will quickly see through.
Pennsylvanians want affordable college tuition, good
public schools, and reliable transportation. They want assistance for
vulnerable children and families. They want public safety services that
will keep them secure in their homes and communities. They want the
state to make critical investments that will improve economic growth and
ensure a better future for their children and grandchildren. All of
these will be jeopardized by this dangerous legislation.
For 200 years,
Pennsylvania’s elected officials have been sent
to Harrisburg
to lead, to make decisions, and to exercise sound judgment on behalf of
all Pennsylvanians. Don’t abdicate your authority to a formula. We urge
you to oppose SB 7 and SB 707.
Jenny L. Hershour, Citizens
for the Arts in Pennsylvania
Joan Benso, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
Peter Javsicas,
Pennsylvanians for Transportation Solutions
Doug Hill, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania
John Dodds, Philadelphia Unemployment
Project
Richard Weishaupt,
Community Legal Services
Rev. Neil P. Harrison, Lutheran
Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
Eileen Connelly, SEIU Pennsylvania State Council
Sr. Mary Scullion,
Project H.O.M.E.
James Weaver, Pennsylvania State Education Association
Hank Kerr, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Fine Arts
Terri Youngblut,
Lutheran Theological Seminary
Paulette Houghton,
UCP South Central Pennsylvania
Mary Ann Benz, FLOC-For
Love of Children
Bill Bacon, Pennsylvania Social Services Union
Barry Kauffman, Common
Cause
Lisa Huitsma, Gateway
to the Arts, Pittsburgh
Diane Menio, Center for
Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly
John Vanco, Erie Arts Museum
Pam Wright, Community
Theatre League of Williamsport
Rev. Sandra Strauss, Pennsylvania Council of
Churches
Lynda Waggoner,
Fallingwater
Mitch Swain, Greater
Pittsburgh Arts
Council
Gloria Gilman,
Neighborhood Networks
Blair Hyatt, Pennsylvania Head Start Association
George Stern,
Neighborhood Interfaith Movement
Fran Hazam, Mental
Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania
John Hanger, Citizens
for
Pennsylvania's
Future (PennFuture)
Ronald
Cowell, The Education Policy and Leadership Center
Janis Risch, Good Schools Pennsylvania
Carol Goertzel,
PathWaysPA
Len Reiser, Education Law Center
Dave Fillman, Executive
Director, AFSCME Council 13
Rev. Dr. Robert
F. Zanker, United
Methodist Board of Church & Society Central PA.
Conference
Terry Casey, Pennsylvania Child Care Association
Sharon Ward, Pennsylvania Budget
and Policy
Center
Rev. Dr. Bruce
P. Bouchard, Hanover, PA
Ken Kertesz, PA State
Legislative Board-BLET
Deidre Selig, PACE Rep. MNEA
Marcus Saitschenko,
Housing Association of Delaware Valley
Stephen Perloff, Editor,
the Photo Review Langhorne
Rev. Karl Jones,
St. John Church, Auburn
Richard W. Bloomingdale,
Secretary-Treasurer, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO
Shelly D. Yanoff, Philadelphia Citizens for
Children and Youth
Richard Chevrefils,
AARP
Pennsylvania State Director
Stinson Stroup,
Pennsylvania
Association of School Administrators
Joseph F. Bard, Pennsylvania Association
of Rural and Small Schools
Wendell WQ Young IV
President UFCW 1776
Rev Dr. Beverly Dale, Christian Association, University of Pennsylvania
Stephen Herzenberg,
Keystone
Research Center
TABOR alert