The Colorado BioScience Association and 650+ Partners Oppose Amendments 60 and 61 & Proposition 101
The Colorado BioScience Association along with over 650 partners are opposed to three ballot measures facing Colorado this election – Amendment 60, Amendment 61 and Proposition 101. These three measures - also known as the 'ugly three' - are referred to as tax breaks, but will have a devastating impact on Colorado and the companies located in the state for years to come.
Denver, CO, October 27, 2010 --(PR.com)-- The Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) together with over 650 partners are opposed to three ballot measures facing Colorado this election – Amendment 60, Amendment 61 and Proposition 101. The announcement is made by Holli Baumunk, CBSA President & CEO, who says these three measures - also known as the 'ugly three' - are referred to as tax breaks, but will have a devastating impact on Colorado and the companies located in the state for years to come.
“These three measures are certain to bring long-term harm to the bioscience industry as a whole and push Colorado’s economy further into recession,” Baumunk explains. “Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 create an unprecedented $4.2 billion deficit at the state and local level, displacing 73,000 jobs, terminating over 8,000 classroom teachers and dramatically increasing fees and licenses on small business. This will happen on top of the 110,000 jobs already lost in Colorado in the last 18 months of the recession.”
Amendment 60 would reduce local property taxes while requiring state expenditures for kindergarten through 12th grade to increase and offset these cuts. The state currently spends 46% of the budget on K-12 education funding and would have to increase this to 67% of the budget, limiting the state on spending in other areas. The amendment would also repeal voter-approved initiatives that allow local governments to increase property tax rates to support local schools and additional services. It would also require publicly owned enterprises, such as public universities or the Denver International Airport, to pay property taxes while prohibiting those entities from charging either a mandatory fee or a tax on property.
Like Amendment 60, there are many implications from Amendment 61, but some impacts would include prohibiting all future borrowing by the state government while limiting borrowing by local governments, cities, school districts, counties and enterprises such as public colleges and universities. Amendment 61 would apply new borrowing limits on all local governments and require that future borrowing be submitted for voter approval, which would either increase fees, reduce construction or reduce programs and services. In fact, Amendment 61 would be like operating a business with no line of credit.
Proposition 101 proposes to reduce the state income tax rate, reduce or eliminate taxes and fees on vehicle purchases, registrations, leases and rentals and eliminate all state and local taxes and fees on telecommunication services. This would reduce the amount of money Colorado would be able to use on state run services like education, transportation, roadways, etc. The reduced amount of funding from income tax will require state funded services to begin charging or increasing their rates to maintain their current level, like higher tuition costs at public universities and colleges in Colorado.
Together, the three measures will eliminate a quarter of the state’s income tax, half the public school tax, and all of the road and bridge funds generated from car license plates. They also require payment in advance on the state’s largest infrastructure needs—dams, water and sanitation projects, power generators, airports, ridges and highways, public schools and colleges. In effect they will permanently cut back or eliminate the taxes and fees that fix our roads, run our schools and staff our prisons and police.
“Colorado would not be able to provide services to its citizens, attract investment into the state, support current bioscience companies here, nor attract new companies to the state, if we adopt Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101,” Baumunk explains. “The Colorado BioScience Association has taken a formal position to oppose these three job-killing measures. We have also been urging our members and their families to inform their friends, neighbors and colleagues as to the disastrous effects these measures will have on Colorado’s economic recovery.”
For more information on these measures, the CBSA encourages you to visit www.donthurtcolorado.com
About the Colorado Bioscience Association
The CBSA is a not-for-profit corporation providing services and support for Colorado's growing biosciences industry. With more than 400 members, CBSA actively works to promote the growth of the industry by working for a better business environment, grow the state's biotech workforce, fight for policies that support a strong bioscience industry in the state and speak with a single voice on behalf of the industry. For more information, visit http://www.cobioscience.com
CBSA also is found on these social media sites:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/COBioscience
LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=98468&trk=anet_ug_grppro
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/ColoradoBioScienceAssociation
News Feed: http://coloradobio.blogspot.com
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/COBioscience
Contacts:
Leah Kientz, Director of Public Policy and Programs, Colorado BioScience Association – 303-592-4088, Lkientz@cobioscience.com
Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely PR – http://www.absolutelypr.com – 303-984-9801, maggie@absolutelypr.com
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“These three measures are certain to bring long-term harm to the bioscience industry as a whole and push Colorado’s economy further into recession,” Baumunk explains. “Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 create an unprecedented $4.2 billion deficit at the state and local level, displacing 73,000 jobs, terminating over 8,000 classroom teachers and dramatically increasing fees and licenses on small business. This will happen on top of the 110,000 jobs already lost in Colorado in the last 18 months of the recession.”
Amendment 60 would reduce local property taxes while requiring state expenditures for kindergarten through 12th grade to increase and offset these cuts. The state currently spends 46% of the budget on K-12 education funding and would have to increase this to 67% of the budget, limiting the state on spending in other areas. The amendment would also repeal voter-approved initiatives that allow local governments to increase property tax rates to support local schools and additional services. It would also require publicly owned enterprises, such as public universities or the Denver International Airport, to pay property taxes while prohibiting those entities from charging either a mandatory fee or a tax on property.
Like Amendment 60, there are many implications from Amendment 61, but some impacts would include prohibiting all future borrowing by the state government while limiting borrowing by local governments, cities, school districts, counties and enterprises such as public colleges and universities. Amendment 61 would apply new borrowing limits on all local governments and require that future borrowing be submitted for voter approval, which would either increase fees, reduce construction or reduce programs and services. In fact, Amendment 61 would be like operating a business with no line of credit.
Proposition 101 proposes to reduce the state income tax rate, reduce or eliminate taxes and fees on vehicle purchases, registrations, leases and rentals and eliminate all state and local taxes and fees on telecommunication services. This would reduce the amount of money Colorado would be able to use on state run services like education, transportation, roadways, etc. The reduced amount of funding from income tax will require state funded services to begin charging or increasing their rates to maintain their current level, like higher tuition costs at public universities and colleges in Colorado.
Together, the three measures will eliminate a quarter of the state’s income tax, half the public school tax, and all of the road and bridge funds generated from car license plates. They also require payment in advance on the state’s largest infrastructure needs—dams, water and sanitation projects, power generators, airports, ridges and highways, public schools and colleges. In effect they will permanently cut back or eliminate the taxes and fees that fix our roads, run our schools and staff our prisons and police.
“Colorado would not be able to provide services to its citizens, attract investment into the state, support current bioscience companies here, nor attract new companies to the state, if we adopt Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101,” Baumunk explains. “The Colorado BioScience Association has taken a formal position to oppose these three job-killing measures. We have also been urging our members and their families to inform their friends, neighbors and colleagues as to the disastrous effects these measures will have on Colorado’s economic recovery.”
For more information on these measures, the CBSA encourages you to visit www.donthurtcolorado.com
About the Colorado Bioscience Association
The CBSA is a not-for-profit corporation providing services and support for Colorado's growing biosciences industry. With more than 400 members, CBSA actively works to promote the growth of the industry by working for a better business environment, grow the state's biotech workforce, fight for policies that support a strong bioscience industry in the state and speak with a single voice on behalf of the industry. For more information, visit http://www.cobioscience.com
CBSA also is found on these social media sites:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/COBioscience
LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=98468&trk=anet_ug_grppro
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/ColoradoBioScienceAssociation
News Feed: http://coloradobio.blogspot.com
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/COBioscience
Contacts:
Leah Kientz, Director of Public Policy and Programs, Colorado BioScience Association – 303-592-4088, Lkientz@cobioscience.com
Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely PR – http://www.absolutelypr.com – 303-984-9801, maggie@absolutelypr.com
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Contact
Colorado BioScience Association
Maggie Holben
303-984-9801
http://www.cobioscience.com
Maggie Holben
303-984-9801
http://www.cobioscience.com
Contact
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