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Colorado Budget Gap Nears $1.5B As Revenue Forecast Slides
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Budget Gap Nears $1.5B As Revenue Forecast Slides

By: Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The latest revenue forecasts from economists in both the governor’s office and the Colorado legislature show that the state’s budget predicament has worsened — by hundreds of millions of dollars more. That, in turn, means cuts programs and services in next year’s fiscal budget will go much deeper. The state’s fiscal predicament also means no refunds for Colorado residents. Economists with the Legislative Council downgraded the forecast for the 2026-27 fiscal year by another $643 million, bringing the total shortfall to nearly $1.5 billion. What’s driving the downgrade? General fund revenues — dollars that come from tax collections for individual and corporate income tax, and sales and use taxes — came in lower for fi...
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Colorado Joins Other Blue States On California’s Risky Fiscal Road
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New York Post, Approved, Commentary, National

Colorado Joins Other Blue States On California’s Risky Fiscal Road

By John Mac Ghlionn | Commentary, New York Post Colorado used to be the West’s answer to California — all the mountains, none of the madness. Pro-growth, lightly regulated, and magnetically attractive to the kind of ambitious people California was slowly driving out. That equilibrium is gone. The strivers arrived from the Golden State, shifted the politics leftward, and brought the policy preferences that made them leave in the first place. The results are arriving on schedule. Population growth has slowed. The labor force has contracted. Denver now trails Midwestern peers in economic momentum. Housing costs have climbed to coastal absurdity, with typical homes demanding more than six times median income. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT NEW YORK POST...
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Virginia Democrats Abandon Affordability Promises With Massive Tax and Policy Push
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The Daily Signal, Approved, Commentary, National

Virginia Democrats Abandon Affordability Promises With Massive Tax and Policy Push

By Jarrett Stepman | Commentary, The Daily Signal Remember when Democrats spent an entire election cycle talking about “affordability” as if that’s all they care about now? Well, if you bought that, then there’s a socialist mayor in New York who’s got a bridge to sell you. But New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani isn’t actually the one completely blowing up the affordability farce, it’s assumedly “moderate” Virginia Democrats. Much of the media touted Abigail Spanberger as the moderate Democrat gubernatorial candidate who could lead the party back to power. The Wall Street Journal even called her the “anti-Mamdani.” “Abigail Spanberger is seen as a potential moderate face for her struggling party,” read The Wall Street Journal’s subheadline. ...
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Colorado Lawmakers Warn School Meal Taxes Could Return to Ballot Yet Again
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Warn School Meal Taxes Could Return to Ballot Yet Again

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun The $95 million a year voters approved when they passed Proposition MM in November is expected to generate enough to fund the Health School Meals for All program. But it might still go back to the ballot. Just two months after Colorado voted — for the second and third times — to raise taxes for a school meals program, legislative analysts are warning state lawmakers they might have to go back to the ballot for round four. The news reduced Joint Budget Committee Chair Emily Sirota to a three-letter response during a December meeting: “O … M … G …” This time around, the stakes aren’t quite as high. The $95 million a year voters approved when they passed Proposition MM in November is expected to generate enough to pay f...
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Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Advances Seeking End to Flat Tax and TABOR Limits
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Approved, Complete Colorado, State

Colorado Progressive Tax Plan Advances Seeking End to Flat Tax and TABOR Limits

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — After years of voter-approved measures scaling back Colorado’s income tax rate, proponents of significantly higher government spending have cleared a major hurdle at the state Title Board towards raising taxes by $4.1 billion annually.   Proposed Initiative #181 would replace Colorado’s flat income tax with a so-called “progressive” tax where taxpayers are charged higher rates based on their income.   The initiative is being put forth by the Bell Policy Center, a progressive nonprofit led by former Colorado state rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, who while in office advocated multiple times for such things as reducing refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) and universal healthcare. The Title Board gave the green light to move forw...
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Colorado Courts Deliver Split Decisions on TABOR in 2025
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Courts Deliver Split Decisions on TABOR in 2025

By Rob Natelson | Commentary, Complete Colorado During 2025, Colorado appellate courts issued two important decisions construing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. One continued the judiciary’s long practice of defeating and weakening TABOR. The other decision, however, was a rare victory for Colorado taxpayers. Background The Colorado Constitution, like the charters of almost all other states, includes terms restricting public debt, taxes, and spending. Such terms are called “tax and expenditure limitations” or “TELs.” State constitution-writers started to insert TELs during the mid 19th century, after several states went bankrupt from overspending. This helps explain why the Colorado Constitution, as adopted in 1876, included some very strict TEL...
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Colorado Ballot Measures LL and MM Risk Wasting More Taxpayer Dollars
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Ballot Measures LL and MM Risk Wasting More Taxpayer Dollars

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette As if Coloradans needed another reason to vote against the tax hikes of Propositions LL and MM — placed on this November’s ballot by our free-spending legislature — a new analysis released this week provides as good an argument as any. The Common Sense Institute’s latest report on the subject reminds us the fundamentally misguided state program that LL and MM are intended to bail out — “Healthy School Meals For All” — is a money pit. Adding tax dollars to it is like pouring water on quicksand. That harsh reality was inevitable from the time the free food giveaway was created in 2022. That was the year ruling Democrats at the legislature evidently got bored with providing free meals only to the low-income children who ...
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Reduce Taxes BY Eliminating the Government Middleman
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Reduce Taxes BY Eliminating the Government Middleman

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice "The power to tax is the power to destroy." – U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, 1819 In this article, I’ll explain and contrast how and why the American free market works differently and better than government (in many cases) using two free market American businesses you know: Amazon and Costco. NOTE: I am a Constitutional conservative and enthusiastic advocate of the free market wherever, whenever and in whatever ways possible. I don’t oppose all government, just that which is redundant, costly, over-regulated, complicated, unnecessary, or too oppressive and costly. Which is most of it. In the past, manufacturers, local retailers and their customers enjoyed friendly relationships. A middleman like a distribu...
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Progressive Policies Pull Colorado, Oregon, and Washington Down California’s Path
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National, Approved, City Journal

Progressive Policies Pull Colorado, Oregon, and Washington Down California’s Path

By Joel Kotkin | City Journal Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have adopted many of the policies contributing to the Golden State’s decline. Not long ago, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon were widely hailed as states with bright futures. For decades, they attracted scores of out-of-state migrants, turning Denver, Seattle, and Portland into celebrated urban hubs. But that changed as these states began adopting the very policies—above all on energy, housing, and regulation—that many newcomers had fled from in California. Once politically purple, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have turned solid blue, embracing the same agenda that even the New York Times concedes has turned “the California dream” into “a mirage.” True, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have yet to reach Californi...
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Colorado lawmakers hike fees to fill budget gaps
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Approved, Axios Denver, State

Colorado lawmakers hike fees to fill budget gaps

By John Frank | Axios Denver If you own a car, run a restaurant or go to court, expect to pay more in fees in coming years. Why it matters: The Democratic majority at the state Capitol is using fees to fill spending gaps in an austere budget year — even though it works against their promises to reduce Coloradans' cost of living. Catch up quick: The small-dollar increases are easy to overlook, but a handful of bills would generate big money for the state. READ THE FULL STORY AT AXIOS DENVER
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