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Taxpayers on the Hook When Government Programs Cost More Than Promised
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Taxpayers on the Hook When Government Programs Cost More Than Promised

By: Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Colorado’s state budget is structurally unsustainable, which majority Democrats say could be fixed by ending voter consent over new taxation or by increasing taxes on Colorado residents through a progressive income tax.  While those suggestions would certainly increase state revenue, they are unlikely to fix Colorado’s ongoing budget deficits.  Meanwhile, taxpayers often learn too late that programs are vastly exceeding costs; programs like Cover all Coloradans, Healthy School Meals for All, and the wolf reintroduction scheme were all revealed to be more expensive than initially advertised to voters.  Why do programs end up being so much more expensive than advertised?&n...
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Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado’s $1.5 billion budget deficit is driving widespread cuts across state services, including reduced reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers and steep income losses for families caring for relatives with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, as those reductions take effect, an automatic pay increase for state lawmakers — triggered by a 2024 change in law — remains scheduled to begin in 2027. When Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1333 on Monday, the measure included a salary increase for legislators. The bill does not reference this pay raise directly, nor is it mentioned in either of the bill’s fiscal analyses. The increased salary, along with higher per diem and mileage rates, is expe...
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The Bell Colorado Voters Refuse to Hear
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The Bell Colorado Voters Refuse to Hear

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado is not experiencing a surprise budget crisis, it is experiencing the predictable result of a decade of voter signals. As a recent exile, I can speak with new objectivity. Your legislature responds to incentives. Always. If you reward expansion of government, it expands. If you tolerate fiscal opacity, it deepens. If you ignore constitutional guardrails, elected officials learn they can ignore them too. The current 1.2 billion dollar budget shortfall did not appear overnight. It is the logical outcome of a political training program voters themselves created. Yes. Created. When voters repeatedly elect candidates who promise new programs without demanding sustainable funding, the legislature learns something ...
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Polis Budget Plan Seeks To Keep Your TABOR Refund To Close Colorado Budget Gap
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Polis Budget Plan Seeks To Keep Your TABOR Refund To Close Colorado Budget Gap

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Tucked deep within the hundreds of pages of the proposed $46.8 billion 2026–27 state budget is a line item showing $306.1 million in savings — achieved by canceling TABOR refunds. Gov. Jared Polis has recommended withholding TABOR refunds in both 2026–27 and 2027–28. His budget proposal says the state accidentally overpaid $306.1 million in refunds during the 2025–26 fiscal year. According to the governor’s office, the overpayment stemmed from federal budgetary changes that affected how the state calculated revenue for 2024–25. Those revised calculations led to higher-than-appropriate refunds being issued in 2025–26, according to the Polis administration. The request argued that if the federal budget’s impact on 2024–25 ...
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Partisan Divide Sharpens Over Colorado Spending Plan As $46.8B Budget Moves to Senate
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

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 Amabi...
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Colorado budget showdown: GOP forces full reading of 661-page bill, halting debate
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado budget showdown: GOP forces full reading of 661-page bill, halting debate

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A procedural battle at the Colorado Capitol boiled over on Wednesday night, when a House Republican demanded the 661‑page state budget be read aloud in full — a move that delayed the advance of the proposed $46.8 billion spending plan. Colorado legislators are constitutionally required to adopt a balanced budget each year. For next year’s budget, they are grappling with $1.5 billion deficit in general fund dollars, compelling them to cut spending and reexamine programs, particularly in Medicaid, the major factor driving the deficit. In addition to the state’s Medicaid woes, Democrats have blamed Congress for Colorado’s fiscal woes, arguing the federal budget changed the revenue equation and caused the state budget to go unbalanced. Republic...
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Lawmakers Weigh $300M Pinnacol Split To Shore Up State Budget
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Lawmakers Weigh $300M Pinnacol Split To Shore Up State Budget

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The panel of Colorado legislators in charge of crafting next year’s budget has finalized the 2026–27 spending plan built on deep cuts and one‑time cash transfers in an attempt to close a shortfall of more than $1.2 billion. The plan is leaving lawmakers frustrated with the reductions to core services. Some cited cuts to health care programs for children and families, though others argued the spending plan “protects what matters most.” That $1.2 billion figure comes from the governor’s economic forecast. The legislature’s economists, however, warned of an even bigger deficit at around $1.5 billion. A combination of factors have led to Colorado’s budget woes. Democrats have pointed to the congressional budget approved last ...
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Lawmakers Face Tough Choices As Medicaid Spending Explodes Crushing State Budget
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Lawmakers Face Tough Choices As Medicaid Spending Explodes Crushing State Budget

By Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics The state’s Medicaid program — which covers about one in four Coloradans — is poised for its largest single-year jump in at least two decades, with officials proposing a $2.3 billion increase, even as lawmakers face a $1.5 billion budget shortfall. The data shows Medicaid enrollment has grown steadily, while spending has increased far more rapidly — more than fivefold since 2007. As lawmakers begin work this week on next year’s budget, they will have to grapple with Medicaid spending, which has overtaken K-12 education as the largest line item in the state budget. “What’s even more alarming, over the past five years, Medicaid expenses have averaged 19%,” said state Rep. Rick Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican. “This ...
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Colorado Progressives Blame TABOR For $1.5B Budget Gap While Expanding Costly Tax Credits
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Progressives Blame TABOR For $1.5B Budget Gap While Expanding Costly Tax Credits

By Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Karl Marx, co-author of The Communist Manifesto, once wrote “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.” We’re watching a version of this play out at the Colorado State Capitol. Like thousands of enlightened technocrats who came before them, Colorado’s progressive legislators believe that they are uniquely endowed to once and for all fix structural flaws in the state’s budget and finally bring “fairness” and “equality” to Colorado.  If they could only eliminate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR, heavily tax the rich, and preserve their preferred special interest tax breaks, then Colorado would have heaven on Earth.  Really, this farcical display will only serve to destroy Co...
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Colorado Lawmakers Weigh $500 Million In Cuts As $1.5 Billion Deficit Looms
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Weigh $500 Million In Cuts As $1.5 Billion Deficit Looms

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee is working through a list Wednesday of about 150 suggestions to cut as much as $1.5 billion in general fund dollars out of next year’s budget. The largest on the list prepared by JBC staff is $198 million in cuts to the funding for the annual senior and disabled veterans homestead exemption. Funding for the homestead exemption has to come out of general fund dollars in the 2026-27 budget because the state does not have a Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights surplus that would normally cover that cost. The other side of the issue is Gov. Jared Polis’ support for a proposal to allow Pinnacol Assurance to privatize, with the hopes that half of the funds Pinnacol would pay the state as a result ...
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