News releases from Not in
Montana: Citizens Against CI-97 & member groups
10/26/06
- Montana coalitions applaud Montana Supreme Court decision
on CI-97, CI-98 & I-154
10/11/06 -
Montana firefighter takes on CI-97 in new TV ad
9/28/06
- Governor Schweitzer and Billings Healthcare Community Say
"Protect our Healthcare System, Vote No on CI-97"
9/22/06
- Montana League of Women Voters Say "Vote Like it Counts"
9/18/06
Victim of CI-97 Signature Gathering Fraud Speaks Out Against
CI-97 and its Big Money, Out-of-State Supporters
9/15/06 -
Legislator Challenges Montana Lawmakers to Stand Against CI-97
9/13/06 -
Havre community leaders stand against CI-97 in first of 10
community forums
9/8/06 - Montana
Firefighters Say No to CI-97
8/24/06
- Montana Contractors Association joins coalition
7/27/06
- Not In Montana files legal challenge to CI-97
7/21/06
- CI-97 qualifies - Not In Montana responds
5/25/06
- Broad-based coalition forms to oppose CI-97 (SOS)
4/13/06
- SOS initiative and giant pig are part of national movement,
says group
FOR
RELEASE: April 13, 2006
CONTACT: Claudia Clifford 406-457-4705 or 406-439-8046
SOS initiative and giant pig are
part of national movement, says group
The coalition opposing Montana’s proposed
Stop Over-Spending (SOS) initiative, CI-97, today commented
on the appearance of a large pink pig at the courthouse in
Butte.
“We have been expecting the pig ever
since we learned about the SOS proposal back in December,”
said Bob Bartholomew, State Director of AARP Montana and a
Butte native. AARP Montana is a member of the Not in Montana:
Citizens Against CI-97 coalition.
Bartholomew said the truck-sized pig is owned
and fed by a national group called Americans for Limited Government
(ALG), based in Glenview, Illinois.
“The pig has shown up in other states
where ALG and other national groups are pushing SOS-type initiatives,”
he said. “We knew it was just a matter of time before
it appeared in Montana. Unfortunately, it means Montana has
been targeted by these national groups. They will undoubtedly
spend a lot of money to push their ideas here, just as they
have in other states.”
Newspaper reports from Oklahoma show that ALG
alone has spent $150,000 to promote the SOS initiative in
that state. ALG even hired out-of-staters to gather signatures
putting SOS on Oklahoma’s November 2006 ballot. ALG
is also pushing an SOS initiative in Michigan.
The SOS initiative is modeled after Colorado’s
so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). Colorado voters
passed a TABOR initiative in 1992 and overturned it in 2005.
“TABOR caused so many problems in Colorado
that the state’s business community led the effort to
roll it back,” Bartholomew said. “SOS and TABOR
are twins with different names.”
ALG and other national groups are also pushing
TABOR proposals in Arizona, Missouri, Maine, Ohio, Oregon,
Nevada, and Wisconsin.
“This is a well-heeled, well-orchestrated
national movement to underfund state services,” Bartholomew
said.
After TABOR passed in Colorado, that state
went from being a middle-of-the-pack state to the bottom of
the barrel in funding for public services. The state fell:
from 35th in the nation for school funding
to 49th.
from 23rd in prenatal care to 48th.
from 24th in child vaccinations to 50th.
Roads and streets deteriorated. Senior citizens
lost important services. Colorado was the only mountain state
to lose jobs between March 2001 and November 2005. (Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
“TABOR was a disaster in Colorado,”
Bartholomew said. “Why would Montana want to repeat
our neighbor’s mistake?”
Montana’s SOS supporters, state Senator
Joe Balyeat (R- Belgrade) and Rep. Scott Mendenhall (R-Clancy)
claim their proposal fixes the problems with Colorado’s
TABOR. But Bartholomew said SOS still has the same key elements
as TABOR.
“It’s a constitutional amendment;
it limits state spending to a formula of inflation plus population
growth; and it requires voter approval to override the formula,”
he said. “Those are the classic TABOR elements. If SOS
passes in Montana, we can expect the same bad impacts that
Colorado experienced.”
As for the pig, Bartholomew said, “Apparently
it’s supposed to represent a bloated state government.
But where is the state allegedly overspending? Schools? Health
care? Senior citizens?”
Bartholomew pointed to the latest U.S. Census,
which shows Montana’s state spending as a share of total
state personal income is lower today than it has been in the
last 15 years. And Montana ranks 35th in the nation in that
category – near the lowest.
“You’ve heard about putting lipstick
on a pig,” Bartholomew said. “You can put lipstick
on SOS, too, but it’s still a TABOR. We are urging people
not to sign CI-97 putting SOS on Montana’s November
ballot. Why would we take a chance that it will be any better
here than it was in Colorado? Besides, Montana’s constitution
already has a balanced budget requirement that prevents the
state from overspending.”
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