A federal appeals court will reconsider whether state lawmakers can sue to invalidate the Taxpayers Bill of Rights after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday instructed the lower court to take a second look.
The justices want the appeals court to take into account new precedents they set with a ruling Monday concerning Arizona’s redistricting commission. That case also considered whether a voter-approved measure unconstitutionally infringes on lawmakers’ authority and whether those lawmakers have legal standing to challenge it.
The fact the Supreme Court agreed Arizona lawmakers had standing to sue is encouraging to David Skaggs, who's representing the plaintiffs challenging TABOR.
"Standing in Arizona doesn’t look very different from standing in Kerr v. Hickenlooper," Skaggs said.
But Jonathan Lockwood with the conservative group Advancing Colorado is hoping the appeals court will end up throwing out the case.
"We don’t want to see the voice of Coloradans thrown out, so that would be the best option," Lockwood said.
The suit to overturn TABOR was filed four years ago, but has been stuck on the standing issue ever since. No court has yet to consider the merits of the case.
