At the Capitol: Study: Supermajority brings tax shift - St. Paul Pioneer Press

Megan Boldt, Pioneer Press, February 9, 2012

If Minnesota adopts a ballot measure that would require a supermajority of lawmakers to raise taxes, property taxes in turn likely would increase as local governments could be forced to take on a bigger burden of providing public services.

That's according to an analysis by the Minnesota Budget Project, an initiative of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

The group said it opposes constitutional amendments that would take away the power of a simple majority of lawmakers to craft state budgets and pass tax proposals.

Between 2000 and 2009, states with strict supermajority requirements saw local property taxes rise an average of 22 percent, after adjusting for inflation, according to the analysis. Property taxes in states without supermajority requirements for tax increases rose an average of 13 percent during that time.
California, a strict supermajority state, saw property taxes increase by 41 percent in real dollars, even though that state also has a constitutional limitation on property tax growth.

"The impact of this cost-shifting could further increase disparities in economic opportunities and availability of quality services across the state. Communities with fewer resources are least likely to be able to make up the difference from state budget cuts," according to the report.

The Minnesota Budget Project used data from nine states - Arizona, California, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Dakota. These states
have supermajority requirements that apply to all major sources of revenue, similar to the proposal being considered in Minnesota.