New Releases Businesses Oppose SOS Elsewhere It appears that the paid circulators brought in from other states have secured enough signatures to get the ill-conceived SOS state budget issue on the ballot in November. In Colorado, the only state that has adopted this approach, the proposal devastated the economy, destroyed public services and had the result of raising property taxes. As a result, in the last election the proposal was set aside for five years to help Colorado's economy recover and to rebuild infrastructure. The Colorado business community believes that SOS-TABOR has dragged down their state’s economy. Neil Westergaard, editor of the Denver Business Journal, recently wrote: "Face it, business leaders have done a sober assessment of TABOR… and they don’t like what they see… No business would survive if it were run like the TABOR faithful say Colorado should be run… with withering tax support for colleges and universities, under-funded public schools, and a future of crumbling roads and business." The same SOS group is at work in a number of states including Michigan. The Michigan State Chamber is vigorously opposing the proposal. The Michigan Camber’s CEO, Rich Studley, in a statement released July 11, 2006 told news media: "after carefully studying the actual wording of this proposal, the Michigan Chamber’s Tax Committee concluded that it is ambiguous, would introduce unfamiliar terms into the state constitution, and lacks clarity. The only thing certain about the SOS proposal is that if approved, it would result in years and years of costly litigation, creating great uncertainty for both taxpayers and state and local governments.” While not a complete list, we also know that chambers of commerce are opposing similar proposals in Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri and Oregon. In addition, many business owners, as well as law enforcement officials, have serious concerns about the ruling from Federal District Court Judge Kopf that appears to force private businesses to allow petition circulators to gather signatures on private sidewalks and in private parking lots. It caused a great deal of frustration for customers and businesses during the last week of signature gathering. A number of organizations are coming together under the banner, Nebraskans Against 423, to defeat this gimmick here in Nebraska. While taxes need to be addressed, we agree with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, this is the wrong solution because it has "numerous substantive flaws contained in the overly complicated and poorly — worded proposal." This proposal will adversely impact every aspect of Nebraska's business communities and our state's economic health.