Daily Archive
Stories Posted on August 1, 2008
GOP suffering from a lack of (ballot) initiative
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: · Source: LA Times
In 2004, Republicans managed to put measures on the ballot in 11 states to ban same-sex marriage, a red-hot family values issue that boosted conservative turnout and played a role in President Bush's reelection. The strategy seemed certain to have a prominent place in the GOP political playbook. But four years later, few key battleground states will vote on propositions likely to excite conservatives. Republicans have been tripped up by mishaps and errors that have kept measures off the ballot. One leading ballot measure activist was sidelined for this November's contests after being arrested in Oklahoma on charges of violating petition rules. Some conservative strategists also blame a lack of new ideas for initiatives. They say the right, beaten down by the Republican Party's dismal rankings in the polls and its lukewarm electoral prospects, has no stomach this year for expensive initiative battles. "There has been a lack of funding on the right side, up and down. The right is despondent and demoralized," said Tim Mooney, an Arizona initiative consultant.
Ritter says credit used to lure industries in 1970s
Category: Taxes · State: Colorado · Source: Grand Junction Sentinel
“Enough is enough.” That’s the message Gov. Bill Ritter brought to Grand Junction on Thursday in his pitch for eliminating a lucrative tax credit Colorado’s oil and gas companies receive. Ritter told The Daily Sentinel’s editorial board that abolishing Colorado’s “ad valorem” tax credit is a matter of “fairness.” Ritter said the tax credit, which allows energy companies to subtract 87.5 percent of their property tax bills from the severance taxes they owe, has its roots in the late 1970s when Colorado wanted to help the energy industry establish itself in the state. State economists have credited the subsidy with severely eating into the amount of money Colorado can use to confront the stresses energy development places on local governments and public infrastructure. Ritter said the need for the credit is gone, given the health of the energy industry in Colorado. “There is a time when a tax credit becomes obsolete as a matter of fiscal policy,” Ritter said.