A pair of new reports shows Colorado lawmakers are flush with cash to spend in the next year, but an economic slowdown on the horizon is generating calls for a more cautious approach. The paradox led Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and lawmakers from his own party to reach conflicting conclusions Friday about how to spend […]
state budget
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government
Worried about slowing economy, Democrats look to delay Polis pledge for full-day kindergarten
A slowing economy coupled with a backlog of unmet needs have left top Democratic lawmakers hesitant to fully fund all-day kindergarten, setting the stage for a possible budget fight with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis over one of his signature campaign promises. The disconnect between Polis and legislative Democrats reflects the difficulty of adding public programs […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government, Transportation
Democratic lawmakers want to ask voters in 2019 to end TABOR cap, but Polis is not so sure
Top Democratic lawmakers want to ask Colorado voters this November to permanently set aside the spending cap in the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. House Speaker KC Becker is drafting a measure to put a question on the 2019 ballot that would allow the state to keep as much as $960 million in projected revenues […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government
Colorado’s universities are catering to out-of-state students. Is their public mission at risk?
Colorado’s flagship public university is within reach of a controversial milestone: the majority of its student body could soon come from out of state. The University of Colorado’s Boulder campus has trended that direction for years — the result of radically changing its business model to make up for two decades of state budget cuts. […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
The Denver teacher strike is over. Now lawmakers are trying to solve Colorado’s chronic education funding problem.
Top legislators this week said they feared the teacher strike in Denver was a symptom of chronic underfunding for Colorado public schools and expressed concern that teachers in other districts will get restless if the state doesn’t tackle school financing. They pointed out that the state put a budget-balancing tool in place in 2009, in […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Politics and Government
Colorado’s prison budget nears $1 billion as inmate population grows. Frustrated leaders wanted action yesterday.
The number of inmates in Colorado is growing, and the total spent annually on corrections is approaching $1 billion for the first time. The latest data suggest the trendlines are projected to only continue despite bipartisan efforts at the Capitol a year ago to cut costs and reduce the prison population to boost parole and […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government
Jared Polis is taking a hands-on approach to the legislature. And not all lawmakers are happy.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is making a strong play to score his top legislative priority, but his strategy is leading some prominent Democratic lawmakers to cry foul. To build support for full-day kindergarten, Polis is making personal appeals to budget writers, appearing in front of a legislative committee and visiting schools across the state. The […]
Posted inPolitics and Government
Here’s a guide to how the Colorado state budget works, and how much is spent
Colorado lawmakers debate hundreds of bills each year, but only one must win approval: the state budget. Known as the “long bill,” the annual spending plan for state government is estimated to reach north of $30 billion for the fiscal year that starts July 1. And the debate about how to spend the money is […]