Colorado's cities and towns face some of the most restrictive constitutional limits on spending and taxing found in the nation. First, the Gallagher amendment has eroded municipal property tax bases by reducing the residential assessment ratio. In addition the TABOR amendment imposed revenue and spending limits. The impacts of both these amendments, working together and separately have changed municipal governance significantly.
This memorandum presents information on emergency fiscal provisions in Article X, Section 20, of the Colorado Constitution (TABOR). Specifically, it discusses the emergency reserve and emergency taxation provisions contained in subsections (5)and (6) of TABOR, respectively.