Legislative declaration - revenues exceeding TABOR limit - sales tax refund

(a) Section 20 of article X of the state constitution, which was approved by the registered electors of this state in 1992, limits the annual growth of state fiscal year spending;

(b) It is estimated that for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 1998, state revenues from sources not excluded from state fiscal year spending will exceed the limitation on state fiscal year spending;

(c) When revenues exceed the state fiscal year spending limitation for any given fiscal year, section 20 (7)(d) of article X of the state constitution requires that the excess revenues be refunded in the next fiscal year unless voters approve a revenue change allowing the state to keep the revenues;

(d) In addition, section 20 (1) of article X of the state constitution states that refunds need not be proportional when prior payments are impractical to identify or return and authorizes the use of any reasonable method for refunding excess revenues;

(e) If voters statewide either do not authorize the state to retain and spend all of the excess revenues for that fiscal year or authorize the state to retain and spend only a portion of the excess revenues for that fiscal year, the state is required to refund the revenues in excess of the state fiscal year spending limitation for that fiscal year that voters have not authorized the state to retain and spend;

(f) It is within the legislative prerogative of the general assembly to enact legislation to implement the refund of state excess revenues for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 1998, in compliance with section 20 of article X of the state constitution;

(h) It is also a reasonable and necessary exercise of the legislative prerogative to determine what constitutes a reasonable method of refunding state excess revenues after consideration of the best information available at the time regarding: The amount and source of excess revenues to be refunded; the qualifications for and number of eligible recipients; and the related administrative expenses;

(i) It is the considered judgment of the general assembly that:

(I) The state excess revenues that are subject to the state fiscal year spending limitation under section 20 of article X of the state constitution for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 1998, will be derived from a wide variety of state taxes and state fees ranging from state sales tax to severance and transportation taxes to health service fees to court fines to permit and license fees to higher education fees and should, therefore, be returned to as large a group of Colorado residents as is identifiable and economically feasible;

(II) It is not feasible to make proportional refunds of state excess revenues for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 1998, due to the impossibility of identifying or returning prior payments;

(III) It is reasonable and fair to refund state excess revenues, if any, for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 1998, to a large group of individuals as a refund of state sales tax revenues since more Coloradans pay state sales tax than any other state tax;

(IV) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (I) to (III) of this paragraph (i), it is reasonable and fair to simplify the process used to refund state excess revenues for any fiscal year for which the amount of such state excess revenues falls below a certain threshold by allowing an identical refund of state sales tax revenues to each qualified individual; and

(V) Refunding state excess revenues for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 1998, through the state income tax system in the manner set forth in sections 39-22-2002 and 39-22-2003 is a reasonable method for refunding such excess revenues.