LEWISTON – The Maine State Chamber of Commerce joined the opposition to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights Wednesday.

Standing with TABOR’s biggest foes, chamber President Dana Connors announced the formation of a coalition that will work for an alternative plan to control government spending and reduce the state’s tax burden.

“The bill as drafted is dramatically flawed,” Connors said. “Secondly, we do not share the perspective of TABOR’s drafters that all government program reductions are good reductions. And thirdly, we believe there is an alternative way to lowering Maine’s high tax burden.”

TABOR would limit government spending and revenue collection. It also sets up a two-stage process to override the limits. An override would have to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the governing body proposing the increase and then be approved by in a referendum. TABOR will be Question 1 on November’s ballot.

The alternative, which will not appear on the ballot, would build upon legislation passed in 2005 that set limits on state and municipal spending. The plan would close loopholes in the law, make it more difficult to override spending limits and set debt limits.

“As important as lowering our tax burden is – and make no mistake about it, that is as important to us as it is to the TABOR group or anybody else in the state, no question about that – as important as that is, there’s also the need for investment,” Connors said.

Roy Lenardson, a consultant for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights campaign, described the coalition that the chamber formed as “big government, big business and big unions.”

“This is a group of elitists who don’t care about the property taxpayers in Maine,” Lenardson said.

“For two years, we’ve been having hearings and meetings and discussions on TABOR, and now, three weeks before the election the chamber comes forward with a plan? It’s ridiculous,” Lenardson said.

Lenardson also touted the endorsement of TABOR by the National Federation of Independent Business/Maine, an organization representing 4,000 small businesses in the state.

“They polled their members. Did the chamber? No,” Lenardson said.

According to Connors, the chamber arrived at its position after three months of study and discussion that included an examination of TABOR’s possible effects.

“We moved from what was anticipated to be – and probably would have been – a ‘yes’ vote with considerable qualifications and concerns to a ‘no’ vote with an alternative plan,” Connors said.

Along with the chamber, the Maine Education Association, the Maine Municipal Association, the Maine Service Centers Coalition, the Maine Hospital Association, the Maine Better Transportation Association and the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce have committed to work for the passage of their alternative plan during the next legislative session and to closely monitor the state’s progress toward reducing its tax burden.

The MEA, along with the National Education Association, have spent almost $650,000 for TABOR’s defeat. And the Maine Municipal Association is in for more than $100,000.

“You need to make investments. You need to lower the tax burden. Not one or the other, but both,” Connors said. “We do not believe that TABOR allows us to do the investment that we need to.”

The coalition’s opposition to TABOR will not end on Election Day, Connors said. If TABOR passes, the groups intend to push for major revisions.

“Our concerns around TABOR are not about tweaking. They’re substantive changes, substantive differences,” Connors said, while also acknowledging the difficulty of going against the wishes of voters.

“It’s totally a different debate and a different set of circumstances. And yes, you have to guard very carefully that you’re not saying that the public did not know what they were doing or that you are inherently saying that it was a wrong decision. That’s why if you have an alternative plan, if you have concerns, you let them know in advance.”