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Colorado Lawmakers Face Crunch Time With Hundreds Of Bills Still Pending
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Face Crunch Time With Hundreds Of Bills Still Pending

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette With just 10 days left in the 2026 session, Colorado lawmakers are staring down the final stretch of a crowded agenda, with 228 bills still unresolved and several major measures that have yet to even be introduced. Monday’s report from the Office of Legislative Legal Services shows that of the 619 bills introduced so far, 430 originated in the House and 189 in the Senate. The large gap between the chambers stems not only from their different membership sizes but also from the annual budget process. In February, the House introduced supplemental budget bills, and later it carried the Long Bill and its 64 accompanying “orbital” measures that adjust state law to keep the budget in balance. There are 228 bills still awaiting...
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Colorado Lawmakers Advance Parole And Sentencing Changes in an Effort to Reduce Prison Population
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Advance Parole And Sentencing Changes in an Effort to Reduce Prison Population

By Taylor Dolven and Rae Solomon | The Colorado Sun It’s unclear if the measures will be enough to offset the need for reopening one or two prisons. Colorado lawmakers passed two bills Thursday and are still considering a third aimed at reducing the state’s prison population, which has ballooned to the point where Gov. Jared Polis is recommending reopening up to two prisons. It’s difficult to say whether the bills, which Polis has yet to sign, can cut the prison population enough to offset the Department of Corrections’ space needs this year. But they represent the legislature’s latest effort to reduce the number of incarcerated Coloradans, which has increased 19% since 2021 even as crime rates have fallen. “This is part of the bigger conversati...
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Colorado Budget Clears Legislature With Mixed Results On Key Priorities
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Budget Clears Legislature With Mixed Results On Key Priorities

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado legislators on Tuesday adopted a $46.8 billion plan to pay for state operations and programs next year after a joint panel reconciled differences between the House and Senate versions. A small group of lawmakers had resolved those differences. Lawmakers adopted what is called the conference committee report on House Bill 1410 — the budget measure — mostly along party lines. Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, was the only Republican to vote in favor of the bill in the Senate. In the House, fellow JBC member Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction, was the only Republican to vote “yes,” while Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch, was the only Democrat to vote “no.” READ T...
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Colorado Democrats Push Plan To Redirect TABOR Refunds To State Spending
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Push Plan To Redirect TABOR Refunds To State Spending

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette A nonpartisan analysis of a proposed ballot measure that seeks to increase public education spending by tapping Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds shows that about 75% of what would otherwise go to Colorado residents wouldn’t actually go to K-12 schools. Instead, those dollars would go into the state’s general fund pot — to be used by lawmakers for whatever purposes they choose. The analysis said that arrangement could start as soon as the 2028-29 fiscal year. What that means, according to the analysis, is that every taxpayer would lose $7,381 in TABOR refunds between the 2026-27 and 2036-37 fiscal years. At its core, TABOR requires a public vote in order to raise taxes. It also limits revenue growth. Notably, it r...
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Lawmakers Push Back On Taxpayer Funding For Colorado Wolf Program
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Lawmakers Push Back On Taxpayer Funding For Colorado Wolf Program

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Sen. Dylan Roberts and Rep. Meghan Lukens led the charge to keep Colorado Parks and Wildlife from using general fund money to bring more wolves to Colorado. The General Assembly sent a strong message over the last few days to Gov. Jared Polis in footnotes to the proposed state budget: Stop using general fund money to reintroduce wolves to Colorado. Footnotes to the budget, also known as the long bill, aren’t legally binding. And the spending plan still has a few steps to go before it can be signed into law by Polis. But if approved, Colorado Parks and Wildlife would be on notice not to use taxpayer money to reintroduce wolves. Instead, lawmakers want the program authorized by voters in 2020 to rely on gifts, grants an...
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Medicaid Cuts Raise Alarm for Colorado Hospitals Already on Thin Margins
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Medicaid Cuts Raise Alarm for Colorado Hospitals Already on Thin Margins

By Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics The $900 billion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade could threaten the viability of more than 400 hospitals nationally and at least nine in Colorado, a new report has found. The hospitals span the Front Range and rural communities, from Denver Health — the region’s primary safety-net provider — to smaller hospitals in places like Leadville, Lamar and Fort Morgan, reflecting the mounting pressure across both urban and rural health systems. “The cuts will be devastating to many low-income and disabled individuals who rely on Medicaid,” the report said. “Moreover, they will have knock-on effects on hospitals that disproportionately serve these communities, deepening the financial strain already plaguing rural and sa...
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State Budget Passes With Medicaid Reductions And Broad Spending Cuts
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

State Budget Passes With Medicaid Reductions And Broad Spending Cuts

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado The state Senate gave final approval Thursday to a new state budget. It came in at just under $47 billion, an increase of about $3 billion over last year. The discretionary portion of the budget -- the general fund -- is $17.4 billion. While lawmakers avoided cuts to K-12 education and higher ed, most state departments saw reductions, with the agency in charge of Medicaid taking the biggest hit. Medicaid spending makes up about 40% of this year's budget. It has been increasing dramatically over the last few years, in part because the legislature has expanded the services it covers. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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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 House Pushes Through $46.8 Billion Budget After Contentious Debate
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado House Pushes Through $46.8 Billion Budget After Contentious Debate

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The House on Saturday, after four days of work – it usually takes two – finished up their work and voted on the $46.8 billion 2026-27 state budget, as contained in House Bill 1410 and 64 accompanying measures designed to help balance the budget. The delay in getting to the finish line was caused by Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, who asked for the 661-page budget bill to be read at length, a computer-operated process expected to take up to 15 hours. That was on Wednesday, the first day the full House worked on the budget. The reading was laid over until late Thursday by House Majority Leader Rep. Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge. The reading didn’t start until after 6:30 p.m., to allow the House to finish wor...
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