Harsdorf-Rhoades Hold Taxpayer Protection Amendment (TPA) UW-RF Listening Session Up

State Representative Shelia Harsdorf and 30th District Assemblyperson Kitty Rhoades participated in a listening session at UW-RF on Monday, April 10. I attended the session and the impression I got from listening to two of our local state legislators is that they are not in favor of amending the Wisconsin Constitution for legislative purposes.

Hardsorf expressed this view more clearly than Rhoades, who got to the meeting late because of scheduling problems. She said "I don't like the idea of legislating through the Constitution."

Both said they were unclear about the details of the legislation, because they authors of the Taxpayers Protection Act (TPA) keep changing it. It was pointed out at the meeting that a key backer of the amendment push, Rep. Frank Lasee (R-Bellevue), has pulled his support for it.

Lasee, principal architect of an earlier proposal known as TABOR, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, says this version has been weakened to the point where it's no longer worth supporting by those who truly want to protect taxpayers by limiting government spending. "It's on life support right now," says Lasee.

Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) co-chairs the committee charged with getting TPA in shape for a vote. He says Lasee's concern is that the legislature has the right to exempt certain charges that local governments can impose, but Grothman says such exemptions would be limited.

Both Grothman and Lasee, Republican lawmakers, believe a vote on some version of the constitutional amendment will happen prior to the end of the legislative session, though Lasee says he hopes "the guts can be put back into it," before that happens.

Harsdorf said Lasee was pulling his support because the amendment was being to watered down from the original version. She pointed out that the original amendment was very similar to the TABOR amendment previously passed in Colorado. Last Coloradoans voted to suspend some of the TABOR components.

Read Lasee's press release.

The President's Room at the UWRF Student Center was standing room only and no one spoke in favor of TPA. Rhoades pointed out that something needs to be done to control the increase in local property taxes. She said these rising taxes are especially hard-hitting to elderly people on a fixed income, because the property taxes are rising faster than the ability of those people to pay.

A couple of thoughts I had at this meeting concerned the title of the legislation: Taxpayer Protection Act. Who are the taxpayers being protected from? If the problem is rising taxes driven by increase spending that is decided by our elected representatives at the local, county, state and federal levels, who are the taxpayers being protected from? The legislators?

This is just a way for the anti-tax wing of the Republican-controlled legislature to not deal with the tough problems of legislation. If our tax code needs fixing -- fix it. No they won't do this because some type of tax would have to increase -- probably income taxes -- if you intend to lower property taxes. There's no free lunch -- unless of course a lobbyist is picking up the tab.

Find out more about TPA:
Transcript: Brookfield Mayoral Debate on taxes'
Appleton letter:
Taxpayer Protection Amendment will be bad news for local control
Hudson letter:
Is anti-TABOR
Two views:
Thumbs up and down, on Taxpayer Protection Act analysis
Letter:
Taxpayers will see no protection from bill