Governor Polis Pushes Record $50.7 Billion Budget Amid Fiscal Concerns

By: Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado

DENVER–Governor Jared Polis recently proposed his more than $50 billion Colorado state budget, requesting a flood of money to education and public safety while acknowledging Medicaid spending has gotten out of hand.

The 2026-27 spending plan was presented to the Joint Budget Committee on Oct. 31, three days ahead of schedule. Polis’ total request stands at $50.7 billion, with $18.6 billion being General Fund (or discretionary) money.

The plan dedicates an additional $167 million to school finance, as well as reallocating remaining revenue from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund to the education fund , while increasing universal pre-school funding by $14.3 million. The state will then issue $2 million for the evidence-based math accelerator program, $1.1 million for free textbooks, and $4.2 million for a one-time fund increase for disability grants.

Polis’ public safety plan pours $7.1 million into state emergency management and Homeland Security funds, along with $15 million towards implementation of  Proposition 130, the 2024 ballot measure mandating the state provide $350 million to “recruitment, training, and retention” of local law enforcement.

Polis’ budget also issues $0.4 million to increase school security, $0.4 million for the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI), and $0.4 million for monitoring domestic threats.

Nash Herman, fiscal policy analyst at the free-market Independence Institute* says this budget, while not surprising, will only enlarge state government.

“Legislators often feel incentivized to spend up to the limit as much as possible and rarely consider cutting government growth,” Herman told Complete Colorado. “The status quo assumption is that the government must always grow, which ultimately is detrimental to the state.”

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