Aspen’s 20-cent surcharge on paper grocery bags is not a tax and therefore is not subject to the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that because Aspen uses the paper bag fee to defray the costs of waste management it is not subject to TABOR requirements including voter approval. “When a government exercises its authority pursuant to its police power to regulate for health and safety, and imposes a charge as part of a regulatory regime, and the charge is reasonably related to the direct or indirect cost of regulating the activity, such a charge is not a tax subject to voter approval,” the ruling says. Related ArticlesSeptember 7, 2016 Colorado Supreme Court to hear Aspen bag-fee case February 22, 2015 Denver checkout bag fee is dead, but backers hope to bring issue back January 23, 2018 Editorial: A statewide tax on plastic bags?