DENVER — Colorado lawmakers are set to debate a $43.9 billion proposed state budget.
The Joint Budget Committee introduced its budget bill (Senate Bill 25-206) and more than 60 related bills on Monday. The proposed budget fills a $1.2 billion budget hole, balances the budget as required by the state’s constitution, and avoids deep cuts to Medicaid and education.
“We were faced with a tough situation and a structural deficit, and we did everything we could to make sure that we came out with a budget that protects and reflects our Colorado values but that also allows us to balance our budget, which is a constitutional requirement at the end of the day,” said State Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder.
Amabile is one of six lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee.
“At the end of the day, I think we did the best we could do under the circumstances,” said Amabile.
- Read the bill's head note in the player below
The committee’s proposal makes one-time transfers from several cash funds to the general fund. While it avoids cuts to Medicaid and education — which many were fearful of — it does make cuts elsewhere.
"We did make some substantial cuts to transportation,” said Amabile. “We cut from every department."
The JBC also eliminated several small programs, such as one that provides funding for mental health screenings to students. Another program on the chopping block provides services for college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"Not everybody will be happy with what we did, and certainly there are some programs that got cut that people wish we hadn't done that,” said Amabile.
State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, who’s one of two Republicans on the committee, said she's glad they were able to find more money for Medicaid and education.
"We were able to fund additional dollars into education, about $185 million into K-12 education. We funded about another $40 to $50 million more in higher education,” said Kirkmeyer.
But she said Colorado is in this position for one reason.
"It's because we have continued to overspend and overspend, year over year,” said Kirkmeyer.
She said things will get worse next year.
“Next year, we're gonna start off $630 million basically in the hole,” said Kirkmeyer. "We are gonna actually have to go in and probably cut programs and cut people because, again, won't stop the overspending."
But Amabile and her fellow Democrats blame the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) for creating the state’s budget problems.
"Because of the limitations of TABOR, we can't spend all the money that we get, and we have to do a lot of maneuvering around in order to spend the money that we have,” said Amabile. “TABOR really makes it hard.”
Debate on the budget is expected to get underway later this week. Lawmakers must pass a balanced budget before they adjourn next month.
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