I’ve written before about the Colorado Republican Party’s ongoing leadership issues. As you may recall from earlier stories, the current chair of the party, or rather, the guy who says he’s the current chair of the party, Dave Williams, may or may not have been removed from his party office last weekend.

At a meeting of the party’s central committee, Williams and his team were removed from their leadership roles by an overwhelming majority of those voting, with 88% casting ballots in favor of removal. But, taking a lesson from his MAGA overlord and mentor, Williams has just announced that election didn’t count. He says that election, seemingly held within the governing rules of the Colorado GOP, was actually fraudulent and illegal.

The GOPers then selected Eli Bremer, who like Williams is from El Paso County, my home, to be the new chair as well as new vice chairs and other officials. So as of now, the GOP has two different leaders, each insisting the other is illegal and fraudulent.

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Williams is counting on a ruling from the national GOP’s parliamentarian, who said the meeting held to oust Williams was “illegitimate and any action taken there was or will be null and void.” So as of now, there are two different party chairs for our state’s GOP, and they are likely to issue conflicting instructions and will make an even further mess of things for a party that has been in dramatic decline here in Colorado in recent years. And that’s a good thing, of course, from my point of view, but as a former political science professor, wow, is it an interesting and remarkable self-immolation.

But I’m not going to talk about that.

Instead, I want to draw your attention to a Colorado Politics story that explores the rise in fee-based state enterprises finding a way around TABOR. Because if there is one type of story that readers really love, it’s a story about our tax structure and fees.

As a strong opponent of TABOR, part of me is content and even supportive of finding ways to eviscerate TABOR, due to the damage it does and the foolishness behind it. But part of me is also a tad worried about the pattern established by these new enterprises.

Recall that back in 1992, Colorado voters passed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which should have been more properly titled “The Government Is Evil So Let’s Destroy It By Choking Off Tax Revenues,” though I admit the latter is a bit wordy. But at its core, TABOR is poorly thought out, petty and dangerous.

Not surprisingly, our state government has found a creative way to mostly skirt the TABOR restriction that requires voters approve of any tax increase. Instead, we now have a system of “fees” charged by numerous state governmental agencies for services rendered. That, frankly, sounds OK to me, but it appears more and more often these fees are designed as fees specifically to get around TABOR, and they might just be taxes in a TABOR-free world.

The difference between a tax and a fee is said to be a tax is a mandatory payment to the government, while a fee is something someone pays for a particular service, like registering a new car (hint: I’m foreshadowing).

Since TABOR, the number and size of fee collection has vastly increased. In 1996, fees represented 46% of state spending. By 2023, that rose to 71%, all without a tax vote by the voters. As noted in the story, as per a report by the non-partisan Common Sense Institute, “In the 28 years between 1992 and 2020, legislators created 24 new enterprises, which together, collected $20.9 billion in 2020. By 2023, their revenue had increased by over 3,000%, far beyond population growth (62%), to $23.3 billion.” That is a remarkable increase, and frankly, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it.

I recently registered a new truck at the El Paso County DMV. Over the years I’ve grown used to Colorado’s rather dramatic taxing of new vehicles, as a fee, but I was a bit startled when I found myself writing out a check for just under a thousand dollars to get my plates. One can argue this fee is entirely appropriate, given I was paying a fee to drive my truck, and those fees will help pay for lots of things, including some road repairs. I get that. And I’m not sure I’d be happier, say, just paying a higher property tax rate. But wow — a grand for plates?

In recent years, the state legislature has increasingly shifted funding for state programs away from taxes and to enterprises that collect fees not subject to TABOR. Frankly, I’m not sure they are doing anything wrong, in that they need to have funds to pay for the services they provide. Back in 2020, voters passed yet another anti-tax/fee law in Prop 117, that attempted to control these enterprises by saying any enterprise that raises more than $100 million must first obtain voter approval. In response, the state created eight new enterprises, and expanded preexisting ones to get around yet another unwise voter-imposed limit.

I’m honestly conflicted by this CoPo story. I believe deeply TABOR is flawed and cynical and should be repealed, though such an effort would be a tough sell in any election. But I’m also not entirely comfortable with needed government resources converting to being fee-based. This may be an example of practical needs being covered by clever bookkeeping. And I guess I’m OK with that, mostly. But it still seems a little iffy. Stay tuned.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.