CONNECTICUT TAXPAYERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS (TABOR)

 

As Proposed by

 

The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.

 

 

Whereas, Connecticut taxpayers are burdened with the highest taxes and highest bonded debt per capita in the nation, and

 

Whereas, local property taxes have dramatically increased due to State mandates, and

 

Whereas, State eminent domain laws allow municipalities to take the homes and businesses of Connecticut property owners and give them to private developers for financial gain, and

 

Whereas,  the governments of the United States of America and the state of Connecticut were founded on two central principles, a system of separation of powers and checks and balances, and

 

Whereas, representative democracy can only function responsibly and accountably when elected and appointed public officials fulfill their duties in an ethical and honest manner, and

 

Whereas, in recent years a number of municipal and state officials in the state of Connecticut have betrayed their public trust with dishonorable conduct, and

 

Whereas, the ultimate responsibility for good and honest government rests with the people as the electorate, and

 

Whereas, the interest by the people for access to an expansion of civil rights has been limited and restricted by state and municipal statutes and their elected and appointed public officials,

 

Therefore, the Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations proposes that the legislature of the State of Connecticut enact a Citizen Taxpayer Bill of Rights which shall include the following:

 

1.      An expanded and inclusive citizen right to petition and referendum;

 

2.   Allow all taxpayers within the 169 Connecticut towns the right to vote on their budgets and in turn establish their property taxes; 

 

3.      Citizen authority to recall elected and appointed officials through a referendum; 

 

4.      Non-partisan municipal elections;

 

5.      Term limits for elected and appointed municipal and state officials;

 

6.      A precise and specific code of ethics which clearly defines unethical conduct and conflicts of interest applicable to all elected and appointed state and municipal officials and public sector employees;

 

7.      Immediate removal from public office of an elected or appointed municipal or state official, with the loss of the applicable public pension, when convicted of a felony committed while exercising the authority of his/her public office;

 

8.      Revising municipal and state statutes that will establish tax and bonding caps, based on an index that is founded on the citizens’ and community’s ability to pay;

 

9.     Establish criteria limiting spending and taxation by local and state governments;

 

10.  Revaluation Reform;

 

11. Reform State Mandates to provide local governments with the tools necessary to manage their expenses and personnel;

 

12.  Protection of private property rights from government seizure for private economic development purposes.