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COD E R E D

Download - Code Red: The Critical Condition of Health in Texas

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Bill of Rights or “TABOR”; and 2) Article IX, Section 17, called the Colorado Public SchoolFinance Act of 1994 or “Amendment 23.” Passed by voters in 1992, TABOR impacts almost allareas of state government and is widely considered the most restrictive TEL in the nation.TABOR limits Colorado government in four ways: 3081. Revenue increases: Voter approval is required for any revenue increases.2. Revenue collections: TABOR prescribes a formula for growth in spending and requiresthat all revenue collected in excess of that amount must be returned to the taxpayersunless voters approve of government keeping it and spending it. At the state level, theformula is the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus percent change in state population. 3093. “Weakening Provision”: The government cannot spend more than six percent over theprior year’s General Fund appropriations. This can only be weakened or changed by apopular vote.4. Limitations on form of taxation: Specifically prohibits new real estate transfer taxes, localincome taxes and state property taxes. Additionally, the state income tax must be a flattax. At the state-level, TABOR limitations apply to the General Fund and to the CashFunds.TABOR does not let government account for revenue swings and does not allow government tobenefit from real economic growth. TABOR’s limits on revenue collection and on spendingcauses a “ratcheting down” effect on the government budgets for fiscal years that experienceeconomic down-turns.Amendment 23 requires an increase in public K-12 school funding. The amendment requiresthe legislature to increase educational funding by the number of new students plus inflationincreased by one percent every year for 10 years (from 2001-2011), and by inflation afterthat. 310 It did not raise taxes or levy any new ones. State legislators cannot modify or undo itwithout a vote of the people. 311There is a growing consensus that the restrictions of TABOR coupled with the spendingrequirements of Amendment 23 is slowly having a “crowding out” effect on all the otherprograms that are funded out of the General Fund, including public healthcare safety netprograms. Since the pie that is the General Fund isn’t growing fast enough even to meetpopulation plus inflation, but the slice of pie destined for K-12 Education must slowly increaseeach year, the other pieces of the pie have no choice but to absorb a disproportionate amountof the ratcheting effect. 312 Because Medicaid and CHP+ are safety net programs, they are mostutilized when the state experiences economic downturns. Colorado does not have a Rainy DayFund to be used to mitigate severe revenue swings. Currently the tobacco settlement dollarshave been treated by the legislature as the state’s rainy day fund, securitizing portions of thesettlement and redirecting funding to fill budget holes, including financing healthcare. However,as a result of this extremely constrained financial situation, Colorado’s Medicaid and CHP+programs are bare bones, offering only the minimal amount of benefits and covering only themandated populations.Medicaid EligibilityMedicaid eligibility for pregnant women is set at an income at 185 percent FPL or less.Medicaid eligibility for working parents is 39 percent FPL and non-working parents is 32 percentFPL. There are different eligibility criteria for several other Medicaid groups: 74 percent FPL forpeople on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and 79 percent FPL for people on StateSupplementary Payments (SSP an expansion group). Colorado does not cover the Aged, Blind,C-20

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