Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius says Kansans have learned from neighboring Colorado that what sounded good – the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights – wasn’t.

“There was a discussion on issues about higher ed, park services, social services – and a lot of citizens of this state took a look at what was a good sound bite, and decided that maybe this was not good public policy,” Sebelius said.

But Alan Cobb, state director of Americans for Prosperity, which is pushing TABOR, disagreed with Sebelius’ assessment.

The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voter approval of state tax increases and limit state spending increases to the inflation rate plus population growth and refund taxes above that amount. To be adopted, the amendment would need two-thirds approval in the House and Senate, then must gain approval in a statewide election.

Efforts to establish TABOR in Kansas have continued for the last three legislative sessions, but they have yet to take hold.

Advocates for social services, higher education and the business community have worked against TABOR, saying it would stifle the government’s ability to invest in needed services and respond to emergencies.

TABOR efforts in Kansas also may have suffered a setback in November when Colorado voters decided to suspend their TABOR amendment for five years because of budget problems there.

But Cobb said Colorado’s economy had grown faster than Kansas’ in recent years, in part because of the government spending limits imposed by TABOR.

And, he said, the Colorado amendment worked the way it was supposed to by giving voters the authority over budget decisions.

“It worked in form by allowing their citizens to vote on whether or not to keep tax dollars that would have otherwise been refunded, which is what happened last fall,” Cobb said.