Colorado LEAP bill creates an independent ruling board without any oversight
Increases taxes and exempts itself from TABOR, allowing for increases in its’ own tax without voter approval.
Creates an independent board of both the federal government and any local voter approvals
Also doesn’t fund charter schooled or home schooled kids.
From The Colorado Freedom Force
The dust has barely settled from celebrating the early defeat of Initiative 16, which would have imposed extreme and unworkable restrictions on animal agriculture had it passed in Colorado.
But, by now, you know these infringements on our liberties don’t come one at a time. Instead, they’re a rapid-fire assault from different angles, using different subjects and different tactics.
This divide-and-conquer method might spread us a little thin from time to time, but as defenders of liberty, we must all remain vigilant.
This week we are going to review the details of Initiative 25, known as LEAP, which is an initiative using the most clever political ploy know to man… The old “raise taxes to pay for kids’ education” trick.
LEAP is an acronym for Initiative 25, which stands for Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress (LEAP) Program.
If you see signature gatherers in your area, please politely decline to sign this initiative.
Always clever marketing
Names of initiatives don’t happen by accident.
When you think of the word “leap”, your brain naturally tends to think of it in a positive light. That’s why it just makes sense to tie a name like this to a new tax-hike, considering raising taxes in unpopular statewide.
It’s fair to say most Coloradans feel our children are being poorly served by our public schools, yet for many, they simply believe throwing money at the problem will fix everything.
Has that worked in the past?
What’s in the language?
LEAP increases the current 15% state marijuana retail tax an additional 3% for 2022, 4% for year 2023 and 5% for 2024.
After that, LEAP taxes could add another 10% tax for a total of 15% LEAP taxes on retail marijuana. This adds up to a potential 30% state sales tax on retail marijuana, not including any local sales taxes on marijuana.
We’ve all heard this one before. “It’s for the kids”.
Funding would go to creating out-of-school learning opportunities – although only available to “eligible” Colorado children.
LEAP notes that LEAP dollars cannot be used for school tuition – so no public charter schools are getting any love.
LEAP notes that “immediate family members are not eligible to be qualified providers in the provision of services to their children or youth – No love for Homes Schoolers either.
While some of those dollars may go towards the kids, the initiative really just creates a new trough for bureaucrats and politicians to feed at for their pet projects and their own pockets.
LEAP creates an unelected “independent” board not accountable to us voters, the Colorado legislature or the Department of Education – in fact, the board members choose their own replacements.
And lastly, on the 14th page in the last two paragraphs, LEAP exempts itself from TABOR, allowing for increases in its’ own tax without voter approval.
What could go wrong?
Colorado doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
For quite some time, our state has benefitted from “cannabis tourism” since many other states still outlaw marijuana.
But that doesn’t mean we have unlimited ability to meddle with the markets.
Not only are other states quickly legalizing recreational marijuana, but there is still an active black market which will only grow stronger as taxes raise the cost of purchasing legally.
If you jack up prices on a products to pay for schools, and those higher prices kill the market, that means those higher prices will also hurt schools by stripping away funding, bringing us right back to where we started.
Time will tell
It won’t be long before we have a clearer answer as to whether LEAP will appear on our 2022 ballots or not.
The deadline for signature gathering is August 2nd.
Should this initiative reach the ballot, which it likely will, we will have a fight on our hands.
With 14 pages of text, there are many more details to unpack and share related to LEAP, so be on the lookout for more information about LEAP on our website and social media.
For Freedom,
The Colorado Freedom Force