Partisan Divide Sharpens Over Colorado Spending Plan As $46.8B Budget Moves to Senate

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette

The battle over Colorado’s proposed $46.8 billion spending plan for next year shifted to the state Senate, which must decide whether to acquiesce to changes made by the House.

The senators could also decide to adopt their own changes, which would force the two bodies to reconcile their differences.

The state constitution requires a balanced budget, although that rarely stays balanced for long, and this year, lawmakers must plug a deficit of more than $1 billion. The proposed budget is actually bigger than the current year’s spending plan, driven by Medicaid costs.

In the Senate, the budget is sponsored by Joint Budget Committee members Sens. Jeff Bridges, D‑Greenwood Village, Barbara Kirkmeyer, R‑Brighton, and Judy Amabile, D‑Boulder.

Senators will consider several House‑passed amendments, including one that removes Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s ability to use about $260,000 in general fund dollars to acquire additional wolves for the state’s reintroduction program. Another House amendment restores nearly $240,000 in cash funds and three full‑time employees to the Treasurer’s Office for the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund.

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