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Abstract: 

This study examines within-state referenda activity of Colorado municipalities since implementation of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) in 1992. It explores what factors determine referenda adoption and passage at the municipal level and what the fiscal effects are of municipal referenda activity. The authors analyze Colorado municipal referenda data covering experiences with TABOR over 20 years and find that relatively larger and wealthier communities are more successful in passing referenda, that successful referenda are likely to enrich municipal fiscal capacity, and that municipal referenda activity contributes to the growth in a service provision gap between communities in Colorado. These referenda also appear to fulfill a Tiebout-type voter preference approach whereby activity expresses a relative willingness of voters to pay.

Keywords: Colorado municipal referenda, Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), tax and expenditure limitations (TELs), municipal fiscal capacity, municipal referenda adoption and passage

Affiliations:  1: University of Nebraska at Omaha; 2: University of Alabama; 3: University of Nebraska at Omaha.