Interim Committees On The Chopping Block As Colorado Faces Lean Budget Year

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics

In a tight-budget year, the work of interim committees — those off-session groups that look at transportation, agriculture, water, healthcare, wildfires, pensions, and anything else lawmakers want to look at — is on the chopping block.

And this year, no committee is considered sacrosanct.

A bill introduced Thursday by the legislative leadership from both parties and both chambers wipes out just about all interim committees this year, including some year-round groups.

It’s expected to save about $396,000 in the 2026-27 budget, according to legislative council staff.

It would prohibit meetings, field trips, and legislative recommendations and reports from the year-round Capital Development Committee, which plays a pretty major role in determining what building projects and maintenance get funded in the state budget.

Also on the chopping block for 2026 are any works by nine interim and year-round committees, including pensions, behavioral health disorders in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, sales and use tax simplification, and the health insurance exchange oversight committee.

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