Topeka ? TABOR’s tumble in Colorado may have knocked out the proposal in Kansas.

At least, that’s what opponents of the so-called Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights were hoping for Wednesday.

Voters in Colorado decided to suspend TABOR for five years, essentially giving up $3.7 billion in tax refunds that will now be spent on state government.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said the vote sent a strong message from people with “real life experience” with TABOR who are now saying “it doesn’t work.”

“I think what people are saying is we would rather spend money on important services than watch them be decimated,” she said.

TABOR in Colorado restricted government spending to inflation plus population growth and refunded tax revenues above that amount. It also required statewide approval of tax increases.

But Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican who had supported the imposition of TABOR in 1992, sought to suspend the limits for five years, warning that TABOR would cause drastic budget cuts.

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Supporters of TABOR in Kansas, however, said the Colorado vote wasn’t a defeat for their cause in Kansas.

“The people of Colorado have said that they want their Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights to look more like the improved versions that are being proposed in up to 20 other states,” said Alan Cobb, director of the Kansas chapter of Americans for Prosperity.

Karl Peterjohn, head of the Kansas Taxpayers Network, which supports TABOR, was asked whether the Colorado vote killed the measure in Kansas. He said, “Kill, no; wound, yes. How badly? That is still to be determined. Putting limits on government growth is a concept that remains alive and well.”

But Douglas Bruce, an anti-tax crusader in Colorado who wrote the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, said Tuesday’s vote made it harder now for other states to cap spending.

“The establishment is going to say we had 13 years of experience with spending limits and we changed our minds. I’m sorry for their sake and I’m sorry for our sake,” Bruce told The Associated Press.

In Lawrence, legislators who oppose TABOR in Kansas said the Colorado vote was significant.

“You can’t just leave budgeting up to an automatic requirement,” Sen. Marci Francisco, a Lawrence Democrat, said.

Sen. Roger Pine, a Republican, said legislators should be able to react to changing conditions.

“I don’t feel like that should be abdicated to an amendment,” he said.

Rep. Tom Holland, a Democrat from Baldwin, said, “I take it as a personal affront to my ability to represent my constituents when something like TABOR is proposed.”

Rep. Paul Davis, a Democrat from Lawrence, said, “When you have the governor of Colorado, who was a proponent of TABOR, do an about-face on the issue, it clearly shows it has had some pretty bad effects on the state’s ability to operate.”