Senate President says he will push for cap on taxes and spending
 

Senate President Mike Haridopolos said this week that he plans to push the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, also known as TABOR, during the spring 2011 session.Haridopolos has championed the idea before -- which would subject state and local government revenue and spending to caps -- but he ran into opposition from cities and counties, as well as some other Republican senators.

But this time around Haridopolos said he is convinced that the Republican sweep during the 2010 election shows that Floridians want curbs on spending and growth by government.

“If there is ever a message from the election of 2010 it is that government should live within its means and never extract more than they are taking in," Haridopolos said. “I don’t know many folks who think government needs more in these desperate times.”

Haridopolos’ previous TABOR proposal called for voters to give an up or down vote on a constitutional amendment that would limit revenue growth by state and local governments to a formula. Any taxes that would raise money beyond this limit would need voter approval.

Critics of TABOR point to how the state of Colorado was forced to scrap parts of it after working with it for several years. They also contend that such a measure would make it hard for local and state governments to respond to changing fiscal environments or emergencies.

"We're certainly disappointed this continues to be an issue," said Cragin Mosteller, a spokeswomanfor the Florida Associati9on of Counties.  "TABOR is a gimmick.  It's Hometown Democracy for taxes and it would stall any economic recovery Florida is going through.  We certainly would hope to work with Sen. Haridopolos to come up with an alternative solution."