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PERA Bonus Payouts Draw New Scrutiny From Colorado Lawmakers
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

PERA Bonus Payouts Draw New Scrutiny From Colorado Lawmakers

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun The proposal comes in response to a Colorado Sun investigation that found PERA has paid its investment staff millions of dollars in performance bonuses in recent years. Democratic lawmaker says he plans to introduce legislation next year to limit the bonuses that the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association pays to its investment staff. The proposal comes in response to The Colorado Sun’s investigation last week that found PERA has paid its investment staff millions of dollars in performance bonuses in recent years — including $10.2 million in payouts following the stock market’s disastrous 2022. That year, the pension lost $9.8 billion on its portfolio, but PERA still beat many of the benchmarks used to measure it...
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Colorado’s budget keeps growing. Florida just cut spending again
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s budget keeps growing. Florida just cut spending again

By Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado While Colorado’s majority Democrats lament the state’s persistent budget challenges, Florida’s Republican majority just celebrated reducing spending for a second consecutive year in another business-as-usual state budget.  Colorado legislators have plenty of lessons they could learn from Florida, instead, they are more likely to double down on more tax and spend, economy-wrecking policies.  How the states compare  Governor Jared Polis recently signed a $46.8 billion state budget, an almost 7 percent increase over last year’s $43.9 billion in spending, this despite legislators’ constant catastrophizing about Colorado’s “budget shortfall.”  That amounts to approximately $7,800 for every Color...
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Transportation Funding Showdown Continues Between Lawmakers And Initiative Backers
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Transportation Funding Showdown Continues Between Lawmakers And Initiative Backers

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The standoff over Colorado’s road‑funding initiative will continue after supporters declined state lawmakers’ request to withdraw the measure, while both sides signaled they are still willing to pursue a broader agreement ahead of the fall deadline. Initiative No. 175, backed by the coalition Restore Our Roads, would require that all transportation-related revenue be used exclusively for building and repairing roads and bridges, improving safety, conducting transportation planning and engineering, and supporting Colorado State Patrol operations. A petition for the measure received over 180,000 signatures and is currently being reviewed by the Secretary of State’s Office. To qualify for the November ballot, just over 124,000 of ...
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Property taxes up, TABOR refunds nearly gone: El Paso County data reveals the real cost of Colorado’s tax system
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Property taxes up, TABOR refunds nearly gone: El Paso County data reveals the real cost of Colorado’s tax system

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice The first-half property tax payment is due every year by the end of February. The number on the front has gone up again. Somewhere near the bottom, a small credit appears: "TABOR credit."  El Paso County Assessor Mark Flutcher provided RMV with six years of certified tax data for two El Paso County properties: one in downtown Colorado Springs, one in Lorson Ranch, a newer subdivision south of the city.  The numbers show what has happened to Colorado homeowners.  The property tax bill for the downtown home rose from $1,165.61 in 2022 to $1,472.82 in 2025. The Lorson Ranch bill went from $3,369.39 to $4,933.31 over the same period.  The TABOR credit on both statements, which peaked a...
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Colorado protected school funding without touching TABOR refunds. Now it wants those too.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado protected school funding without touching TABOR refunds. Now it wants those too.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Last session, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill asking voters to waive their TABOR refunds to fund education.  The ballot title calls it "without raising taxes." No rates change.  But it asks Coloradans to let the state keep money the constitution currently requires it to give back, and it comes one year after the legislature moved more than $200 million into a protected school account without touching anyone's refund at all. The two moves address the same problem. They work very differently. What the legislature did first In 2025, tucked inside HB25-1320, the School Finance Act, a Senate Appropriations Committee amendment drafted by Sen. Kolker (D) and Sen. Kirkmeyer (R), created something...
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Colorado tax data complicates the “fair share” argument
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado tax data complicates the “fair share” argument

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project High Income Coloradans pay an outsized share of income taxes As a follow-up to an earlier newsletter on Colorado’s income tax distribution (the graph headlining this post is from that newsletter), I did a summary op ed for Complete Colorado. That op ed delves into why a progressive income tax in this state would be foolhardy policy. More, including a link to my earlier newsletter with more context and detail, in the link below. https://completecolorado.com/2026/05/21/high-income-coloradans-outsized-share-income-taxes/ A different take on easing the tax burden for low income earners In the first post today, I shared an op ed I wrote which outlines why a progressive income tax (making t...
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Colorado Road Funding Initiative Nears November Ballot After 180,000 Signatures Submitted
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The Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Road Funding Initiative Nears November Ballot After 180,000 Signatures Submitted

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Gazette Organizers of a proposal seeking to dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to road construction and maintenance have submitted signatures to state election officials in their campaign to put the initiative on the ballot this November. If officials certified the signatures as sufficiently meeting the threshold — organizers need 124,000 to be valid — the battle shifts to persuading voters to embrace or reject the ballot question. The measure, Initiative No. 175, would require that all transportation-related revenue be used exclusively for building and repairing roads and bridges, improving safety, conducting transportation planning and engineering, and supporting Colorado State Patrol operations. The battle over road funding ha...
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School Funding Concerns Grow As Douglas County Faces $22 Million Deficit
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

School Funding Concerns Grow As Douglas County Faces $22 Million Deficit

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The Douglas County School Board on Tuesday previewed its proposed 2026–27 budget amid declining enrollment and a projected $22 million deficit. District officials said the shortfall will be partially covered by a one-time drawdown of the district’s general fund, bringing the balance in line with pre-COVID levels. However, leaders warned the approach is temporary and will require more permanent solutions in the following year. “Without a structural change to how we fund schools in this state, there is at least a substantial risk that next year’s budget would not just be lower but substantially so,” board member Brad Geiger said. “Any substantial decrease in our budget means decreasing employees.” The proposed $901 ...
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Colorado Lawmakers Close 2026 Session With Greater Government Control And Higher Fiscal Risk
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Close 2026 Session With Greater Government Control And Higher Fiscal Risk

By Jake Fogleman | Complete Colorado The Colorado legislature officially adjourned May 13, after weighing more than 600 bills over the course of 120 days. Lawmakers entered the 2026 legislative session facing a set of familiar problems: another billion-dollar budget deficit, rising voter frustration over affordability, and growing concerns about Colorado’s economic competitiveness and business climate. Yet despite those warning signs, the Democrat-dominated legislature largely doubled down on the same governing philosophy that has increasingly defined the Capitol in recent years—more fees, more special interest tax benefits at the expense of other taxpayers, and more attempts to carve revenue streams out from under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). To be sure, not...
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Sharp Divides Emerge in Colorado Republican Governor Debate
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Sharp Divides Emerge in Colorado Republican Governor Debate

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7 Watch key moments and the full debate between State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott Bottoms. DENVER — Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidates State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott Bottoms took the stage Thursday evening in their first televised debate ahead of the June 30 primaries. Victor Marx, a third contender in the GOP gubernatorial race, was invited to participate in the debate but declined Denver7's invitation. Both candidates fielded questions before a live studio audience of a few dozen people as they tried to make the case as to why it was time for Coloradans to hand power back to Republicans this November after nearly 20 years of Democratic control in the state. It was the first major televised deba...
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