It's finally happened. A bill that would allow Albertans to vote on proposed tax increases has finally come to the floor of the legislature. It's about time.

Alberta lags well behind the pack in giving voters the right to reject tax increases. Manitoba has had a "taxpayer protection" law since 1995 that requires a referendum on tax rate increases. The Yukon government may only raise rates after voter approval. After signing the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Ontario Premier Mike Harris has finally followed through with referendum legislation.

And now it's Alberta's turn. Or is it Believe it or not, the Alberta Taxpayer Bill of Rights now before the legislature is not a government bill. It is not even sponsored by a government member. No, Bill 211 is championed by none other than Liberal Treasury critic Howard Sapers.

That's a problem. Not because there's anything wrong with Mr. Sapers' Bill. Au contraire. His proposal is a fine piece of legislation. The problem arises from the fact that: a) private members bills rarely get passed; and, b) opposition private members' bills never get passed.

The reason for this has something to do with the fact that governments feel threatened by laws that are not their own progeny. Like wild animals, regimes possess some inherent biological instinct that compels them to exterminate the offspring of their competitors. Maybe it's natural selection at work or maybe it's just a simple case of not wanting to give opponents credit for a good idea.

And Bill 211 is a good idea. The legislation would require that any increases to income tax rates, fuel tax rates, hotel room tax rates, school property tax rates, and any number of other tax rates be put to a referendum before being enacted --simple as that.

In an era of tax rate reductions this may not seem like a big deal. After all, what self-respecting politician in his or her right mind (I'm being ironic here) would actually vote for a tax rate increase

Ha! Don't kid yourself. There are plenty of revenue hungry politicians out there and you never know when one of them is going to pop up in the Treasurer's chair. The current administration may be committed to lowering tax rates - for now - but there is no guarantee that succeeding legislators will subscribe to the same agenda. Mr. Sapers' Bill could act -- should act -- as an insurance policy against future rate hikes.

More importantly, Bill 211 puts major public policy decisions where they belong - in the hands of the people. If we've learned anything about public finance over the last three decades it's that governments cannot be trusted to provide sound fiscal management. We must have controls in place to avoid the massive deficits, debts and tax burdens foisted on us by largely unaccountable bureaucrats and politicians.

And what better control mechanism is there than the referendum It's time to let the people decide how much money they're going to give the government, rather than allowing the government to decide how much it will take from the people

Not one good reason exists for any MLA to vote against Bill 211. On this issue legislators can put partisan differences aside and do the right thing.