As part of the state’s efforts to find cash during the novel coronavirus pandemic, sweeping cuts have been proposed to the budget and staff of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). The office may not be familiar to many, but OEDIT houses programs that support some of our state’s most important economic […]
Joint Budget Committee
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Are coronavirus-forced budget cuts an opportunity to reimagine Colorado?
The Joint Budget committee recently recommended an 87% cut in the Colorado Tourism Office’s budget, and the reactions have been loud. As both a Colorado native, and the CEO of a ski company that does most of our business here in Colorado, I understand the importance of tourism (and have a lot on the line […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News, Politics and Government
Colorado could stop tourism marketing as budget writers look to slash $3 billion in spending
Budget-slashing in the governor’s economic development office is calling for a sweeping reduction of Colorado’s tourism and marketing budget. The Joint Budget Committee is weighing an 87% cut to the $18.5 million Colorado Tourism Office budget as gambling revenue evaporates under COVID-19 closures. Nearly $15 million of the state’s tourism promotion fund comes from gambling […]
Posted inCOVID, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers began slashing the budget and state employees are bracing for the worst
Two weeks after she tested positive for COVID-19, Brandi Axelsen is still waiting for her symptoms to subside so she can return to work. The licensed psychiatric technician works for the state of Colorado and contracted the disease on the job helping clients with developmental disabilities. Her state-paid sick days expired and she now must […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, Health, Politics and Government
Colorado’s coronavirus budget crunch is putting Democratic accomplishments at risk
Anna Layden makes $57,000 a year as an educator in Durango and owes the same amount in student debt after putting herself through college and graduate school. To pay it down, she applied for a $5,000 loan repayment through a new initiative for Colorado teachers. Deana Cairo wanted to see her 19-year-old son with developmental […]
Posted inBusiness, Education, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers are looking at how to close a $3 billion budget shortfall. Here’s the roadmap.
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the $30 billion-plus state budget begins to take shape this week as lawmakers consider massive spending cuts. How much tax revenue Colorado will lose to the paralyzed economy remains uncertain, but the governor’s budget office is projecting $3 billion in lost revenue for the current fiscal year and […]
Posted inCOVID, Politics and Government
The economic impact of the coronavirus is huge. Now Colorado lawmakers are looking at a budget deficit.
The economic decline resulting from the coronavirus pandemic is projected to put a significant hole in the state budget, a new reality that forces Colorado lawmakers to rethink the entire $32 billion spending plan. A forecast released Monday suggests a $1.5 billion decline in state tax revenue over the next three years as a result […]
Posted inHealth, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers upend the legislative session with decision to adjourn. Here’s what comes next.
In an unprecedented move, the Colorado General Assembly temporarily adjourned in the middle of its lawmaking session Saturday to encourage social distancing and help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus amid a national emergency. House Speaker KC Becker called it “a very solemn” occasion as she introduced the resolution to pause the session for […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government
Colorado campuses sound alarm as leaders push cost-cutting and “efficiency through starvation”
One by one, the leaders of Colorado’s colleges and universities appeared before lawmakers to make a collective plea: Don’t neglect us — again. The state’s higher education institutions made clear that the budget proposal from Gov. Jared Polis is the equivalent of a starvation diet that won’t cover basic costs and undercuts the administration’s goals […]
Posted inPolitics and Government
Here’s your chance to tell Colorado lawmakers how to spend billions of dollars in the state budget
For just the second time, the Colorado General Assembly is giving the public the chance to comment on how the state should spend billions of dollars. The Joint Budget Committee — a panel of six lawmakers that crafts the $32 billion spending bill — will take public testimony Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Legislative […]