In the ongoing legal battle over Gov. Bill Ritter's attempt to impose a tax increase on Colorado property owners, at least one state official isn't enjoying the ride.
Amy Walters/Dreamstime
At the Panera Restaurant at 13th and Grant, state Treasurer Cary Kennedy was overheard Tuesday complaining about spending her entire morning in a deposition with opposing attorneys representing a taxpayer coalition alleging that a Ritter-championed 2007 state law requiring a mill levy "freeze" amounts to an unconstitutional tax increase.
Standing in line at the restaurant - a favorite amongst the Capitol bunch for coffee-fueled strategy sessions - Kennedy told a fellow female lunch companion, "It was about as much fun as a root canal."
The companion chimed in, "as fun as several root canals."
"At what point do you give up?" Kennedy added.
Under Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, all tax increases must be approved by voters. Ritter argues that the new law, promoted as a way to increase funding for the state's schools, does not amount to a net tax increase because it merely "freezes" mill levy rates at their current level. His opponents disagree - saying the new law raises taxes since it necessarily requires that taxpayers will be forced to give money to the state that they would otherwise not have to.