A Citizen’s Guide

At a news conference this noon, the Senate Minority rolled out an amendment to ACES that would recommend using a fraction of the extra tax revenues to repay the Constitutional Budget Reserve, a savings account for the state. Minority Leader Sen. Gene Therriault introduced the idea by saying people have been arguing against increasing taxes because doing so would just lead to ballooning government spending. (The Alliance’s ads come to mind.)

Therriault expressed sympathy for the idea of limiting spending, but not for limiting taxes. He and his fellow Republicans voted against this year’s capital and operating budgets, citing the overall level of spending, and last session pushed for various components of a fiscal plan. Even if the state is looking at surpluses now, it’s likely to face a revenue gap soon, Therriault said.

The resolution would recommend (one Legislature can’t force another to make an appropriation) adding to the CBR one half of the additional revenue brought in by the progressivity element in the tax — the part that raises the tax rate when oil prices are high. It would basically save a chunk of the “windfall” from high prices, noted Sen. Fred Dyson. That makes sense fiscally, he added. When you have good years, save for the lean ones.

Therriault said he would bring the idea up in the Judiciary committee, of which he’s a member.