DENVER (KDVR) — Lawmakers may be done with the special legislative session, but work to fill the hole in this year’s state budget continues as the governor gets his turn to weigh in.
State lawmakers passed a bill calling on the governor’s office to present proposals for budget cuts to the Joint Budget Committee before he makes them. He’ll have his chance to do that on Thursday.
“I thought it was a great, big, beautiful special session, actually,” said Andy Boian, FOX31 political analyst. “Democrats made a clean sweep, and I thought there were certain things done that were important. One: we closed the tax loopholes that we’ve talked about for a while.”
“Overall, I think this was really: Can we come back in, raise taxes by $250 or $300 million and really not allow people to see all the relief they would otherwise see after the federal bill passed?” said Michael Fields, FOX31 political analyst.
Governor tasked with cutting $500 million
The political analysts and both parties at the Capitol have different views on the special legislative session. State lawmakers passed around $300 million in mostly tax-related measures, ending some tax breaks for high-earning businesses to create more state revenue.
Now, the governor is tasked with finding $500 million in budget cuts and money from the state’s reserve funds. There is no word on exactly what his office plans to do, but FOX31’s analysts do agree: there could be some pain.
“There could be, as I mentioned, an across-the-board cut. I do think that sometimes it’s like, look: everyone has to live with a little bit less. I think those tend to be more popular and saying: Look, we passed a budget, everybody went through it, when we have to make a cut, everybody should be involved in some way. It just lessens the burdens than it’s one area where everyone has to see that cut,” Fields said.
“I think you’re going to see a cut to some of the Medicaid provider rates,” Fields continued. “So you’re going to have an impact in healthcare, potentially higher ed could see a cut. There hasn’t been a whole lot of information on exactly what he is going to do in order to make that $250 million cut. But I think those are some of the areas that I anticipate him looking at. I also think there could be some kind of across-the-board cut.”
“There are both vacancies at the state level, I know Mayor Johnston looked at that in Denver as well, but there are also people that are in jobs that are probably at least being considered for layoffs. That’s so unfortunate at a time like now, but it’s probably a necessity. I would think that’s he’s probably looking at that or considering that,” Boian said.
“I know that he has said we’re not going to cut K-12,” Boian continued. “We have to do something about our infrastructure in Colorado. So I don’t see him cutting it out of infrastructure either. He’s the one who proposed full-day kindergarten. So I don’t see any movement on that. I also think he’s got some options.”
The state’s hiring freeze started on Wednesday and lasts through the end of the year. Democratic leaders in both chambers said they weren’t sure what the cuts would entail. A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office told FOX31:
“H.R.1 is forcing Colorado to make significant cuts and we are trying to minimize the amount of harm this bill will cause Coloradans where possible, while preserving our schools, roads, and health care infrastructure. We are looking at all options for potential cuts, including previous cuts included in my budget proposal that were not adopted by the legislature.”
The Governor’s Office said it would have more information to share later this week about the impacts of H.R.1 on Colorado.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
