Chance Hill, CU Regent (CD5)
(This statement reflects my personal view on the matter. I am not speaking on behalf of the entire CU Board of Regents.)
As your CU Regent, I care deeply about students. I believe that
Colorado should invest more in giving our children the opportunity to
get a good education—a mission that fits within the proper role of state
government. But I do not agree with primarily Democrat politicians
demanding that the government raise taxes to do so.
Our state budget is growing by over $1 billion each year. Since TABOR passed in 1992, our budget has grown more than 430% to $32.3 billion in 2019.
Our state population has grown 15% in the last decade, but the state budget has skyrocketed an astounding 71%.
By granting politicians their wishes in recent years with Referendum C funding, FASTER car registration fees, and the 2017 Hospital Provider Fee bill, an additional $3 billion per year should be filling our state coffers to fix our roads and help our students. But our roads are worse than ever, Colorado higher education funding is 48th in the nation, and teacher pay is down 20% in Colorado, even though education spending is up 20% since 1990.
Do Colorado politicians need more money? Compared to other states, we rank 2nd in percentage increase in state spending since the recession. Every year the budget grows, and yet higher ed generally receives an ever dwindling share.
The passage of Referendum C did not stop that trend. In the five years before Referendum C, we averaged spending about 12% of the General Fund on higher ed; during the five years since Referendum C passed, about 10%.
Proposition CC is not the answer. Until we prioritize higher education over expanding welfare dependency programs, this pattern will not be reversed—no matter how much we grow the budget.
I strongly oppose any effort to dismantle TABOR, a key reason why our economy is thriving, by making permanent changes that only provide hypothetical short-term benefits at best for the University. In my opinion, CU Regents cannot plan tuition decisions around the distant hope that a politically lopsided legislature will deliver on their promises this time after having repeatedly failed to do so in the past based on similar assurances tied to previous tax increases.
State government just needs to prioritize better, which includes investment in students—the workforce of the future.
After all, CU alone contributes more than $12.5 billion annually to Colorado’s economy. As a public university, CU provides tremendous value in exchange for last year’s investment of a few hundred million dollars on a nearly $5 billion budget. I call that a good return on investment, and I encourage the Governor to recognize this reality during the next budget cycle.
Moreover, as your elected CU Regent, my fiduciary duty demands that I consider what is best for CU. I believe that Proposition CC will damage the business climate in Colorado and, therefore, may diminish the tax base in the long run. The same tax base that helps fund CU. Consequently, opposing Proposition CC is the best way to fulfill my long-term fiduciary duty. Because what is good for Colorado is good for CU. The Denver Post agrees.
Proposition CC would simply write a permanent blank check to the state’s politicians. If the past is prologue, it remains unlikely that higher ed will see much if any of that revenue.
Colorado currently has the best economy in the country. Let’s keep it that way. TABOR has greatly contributed to our state's success—which includes a thriving University of Colorado. And which explains why the overwhelming majority of Coloradans support TABOR.
Our TABOR tax refunds are projected to be $1.7 billion over the next three years. That money should be refunded to taxpayers—who include current CU students and parents of current and future CU students.
In so doing we will maintain TABOR as a vital, one-of-a-kind safeguard that empowers Coloradans against the wastefulness of government.
Join me in Voting No on Proposition CC.
Sincerely,
Chance Hill
CU Regent
Colorado's Fifth Congressional District
Our state budget is growing by over $1 billion each year. Since TABOR passed in 1992, our budget has grown more than 430% to $32.3 billion in 2019.
Our state population has grown 15% in the last decade, but the state budget has skyrocketed an astounding 71%.
By granting politicians their wishes in recent years with Referendum C funding, FASTER car registration fees, and the 2017 Hospital Provider Fee bill, an additional $3 billion per year should be filling our state coffers to fix our roads and help our students. But our roads are worse than ever, Colorado higher education funding is 48th in the nation, and teacher pay is down 20% in Colorado, even though education spending is up 20% since 1990.
Do Colorado politicians need more money? Compared to other states, we rank 2nd in percentage increase in state spending since the recession. Every year the budget grows, and yet higher ed generally receives an ever dwindling share.
The passage of Referendum C did not stop that trend. In the five years before Referendum C, we averaged spending about 12% of the General Fund on higher ed; during the five years since Referendum C passed, about 10%.
Proposition CC is not the answer. Until we prioritize higher education over expanding welfare dependency programs, this pattern will not be reversed—no matter how much we grow the budget.
I strongly oppose any effort to dismantle TABOR, a key reason why our economy is thriving, by making permanent changes that only provide hypothetical short-term benefits at best for the University. In my opinion, CU Regents cannot plan tuition decisions around the distant hope that a politically lopsided legislature will deliver on their promises this time after having repeatedly failed to do so in the past based on similar assurances tied to previous tax increases.
State government just needs to prioritize better, which includes investment in students—the workforce of the future.
After all, CU alone contributes more than $12.5 billion annually to Colorado’s economy. As a public university, CU provides tremendous value in exchange for last year’s investment of a few hundred million dollars on a nearly $5 billion budget. I call that a good return on investment, and I encourage the Governor to recognize this reality during the next budget cycle.
Moreover, as your elected CU Regent, my fiduciary duty demands that I consider what is best for CU. I believe that Proposition CC will damage the business climate in Colorado and, therefore, may diminish the tax base in the long run. The same tax base that helps fund CU. Consequently, opposing Proposition CC is the best way to fulfill my long-term fiduciary duty. Because what is good for Colorado is good for CU. The Denver Post agrees.
Proposition CC would simply write a permanent blank check to the state’s politicians. If the past is prologue, it remains unlikely that higher ed will see much if any of that revenue.
Colorado currently has the best economy in the country. Let’s keep it that way. TABOR has greatly contributed to our state's success—which includes a thriving University of Colorado. And which explains why the overwhelming majority of Coloradans support TABOR.
Our TABOR tax refunds are projected to be $1.7 billion over the next three years. That money should be refunded to taxpayers—who include current CU students and parents of current and future CU students.
In so doing we will maintain TABOR as a vital, one-of-a-kind safeguard that empowers Coloradans against the wastefulness of government.
Join me in Voting No on Proposition CC.
Sincerely,
Chance Hill
CU Regent
Colorado's Fifth Congressional District
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