TABOR

TABOR, the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, is a provision in the Colorado Constitution (Article X, Section 20) that limits how much revenue state and local governments, including special districts, can collect and spend each year.

Under TABOR, any new tax, tax rate increase, or multi-year debt must be approved by voters, which gives property owners a direct say in how much they are taxed.

TABOR also caps annual revenue growth to the rate of inflation plus local population growth, and any revenue collected above that cap must be refunded to taxpayers unless voters approve keeping it through a process commonly called "de-Brucing." Many special districts have asked voters to approve de-Brucing measures, which allows them to retain and spend revenue above the TABOR limit.

Understanding whether a district has de-Bruced is important because it affects the district's ability to raise and spend money without additional voter approval.