$25 Billion Measure Would Refund Money To Taxpayers
The Colorado state legislature has approved a $25 billion budget, the largest in state history. The three Republicans and three Democrats on the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee approved the measure several weeks ago, leading to contentious floor debate and eventual approval before the Democrat-controlled House by a 45-20 margin and the GOP-controlled Senate by a 31-2 tally. Some Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Morgan Carroll, have complained that the budget excludes expansions of social programs for poor and middle-class Coloradoans. Senate President Bill Cadman responded to his peer’s criticism by saying his party’s exclusion of vulnerable state residents “doesn’t exist, it’s a myth.” The majority of the 50 proposed amendments from both parties were rejected, including a $5 million program supported by Democrats to provide long-acting contraceptives to low-income girls and a Republican rider that would have eliminated some standardized tests for math and English at a projected cost savings of $16.9 million. Democrats controlled both houses of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion for the past two years, before Republicans gained a one-seat Senate majority. Unlike at the Federal level, Colorado’s lawmakers are required to pass a balanced budget, meaning every increased expenditure requires an equal reduction elsewhere.
What Happens Next
The budget now faces consideration by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. If he signs the bill, it will be formally adopted by the state.
What This Means For Small Business
Most government programs that are relevant to the Colorado small business community will see no substantial changes in the proposed budget. Efforts to raise the state minimum wage were kept separate from the budget debate. Despite the partisan hand-wringing that accompanied this year’s budget debate, the state legislature only debated allocations to the $9.6 billion general fund. Even the majority of that funding was largely spoken for before lawmakers picked up their red pens, with primary and secondary education receiving $3.5 billion, Medicaid $2.5 billion, higher education $857 million, and prisons $780 million. One noteworthy point in the budget is tens of millions of dollars in refunded tax payments under the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). This year is the first in a decade in which TABOR payments have been made.
Additional Coverage
Other news media outlets covering the budget include the AP, the Denver Business Journal, KCNC-TV, KUNC-FM, and KUSA-TV. Colorado Senate Republicans issued a statement lauding the budget’s “bipartisan praise.”
