CI-97 - so-called "SOS"

MEA-MFT, along with AARP Montana, have led the fight against CI-97 by forming a broad-based coalition called Not In Montana: Citizens Against CI-97. The coalition includes hundreds of individual Montanans and nearly 60 mainstream Montana groups.

Where CI-97 came from: Modeled after TABOR, an initiative passed in Colorado in 1992. Bankrolled in Montana by Howie Rich.

Montana front group: Montanans In Action "Stop Over Spending" committee.

What CI-97 does: CI-97 would radically amend the Montana constitution. It would dictate Montana's state budget, limiting it to a rigid formula of population growth plus inflation. It's a formula for disaster that doesn't allow the state to keep up with the real cost of providing basic public services.

In other words: CI-97 would gut funding for schools, firefighters, public health, seniors, and more. That's what happened in Colorado, the only state to pass a measure like CI-97. That's why Colorado voters suspended their version of CI-97 in 2005. It's a failure in the only state to try it.

Why CI-97 is bad: CI-97 would force our state to slash funding for vital public services. When state funding drops, it forces officials to raise fees and local property taxes.

Why we don't need CI-97: Montana's constitution already requires a balanced budget. CI-97 replaces that simple nine-word requirement with over 1,200 words of mumbo jumbo that only a lawyer or lobbyist could love.

MEA-MFT taking the lead

Learn more about CI-97 at www.notinmontana.org.