Colorado budget squeeze

Colorado lawmakers spent the past week pushing a $46.8 billion state budget through the House while trying to close a shortfall of more than $1 billion before the fiscal year starts July 1. (leg.colorado.gov) The budget bill, House Bill 26-1410, passed the House on April 10 by a 40-20 vote after a four-day debate that usually takes about two. The Joint Budget Committee had introduced the package on April 6 with 64 companion bills meant to help balance the plan. (leg.colorado.gov) (content.leg.colorado.gov) Budget writers say the gap is closer to $1.5 billion when all the moving pieces are counted. The Joint Budget Committee finished its draft on April 1 after cutting Medicaid, pulling unspent cash from state accounts and trimming or rejecting new spending requests. (coloradosun.com) The squeeze is hitting programs outside the main Medicaid fight. Colorado Public Radio reported in February that youth advocates were already warning scholarships could be cut, and the Colorado Department of Higher Education says the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative funds both scholarships and student support services. (cpr.org) (cdhe.colorado.gov) Lawmakers are also weighing cuts tied to disability services and other supports for vulnerable residents. KUNC reported in March that caregivers for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities were bracing for reductions as the legislature worked to balance a budget hole that had already topped $1 billion. (kunc.org) The fight has spilled past raw numbers into procedure. A House Republican demanded the 661-page budget bill be read aloud in full, delaying action on the spending plan and turning the debate into a public argument over transparency and obstruction. (coloradopolitics.com) Democrats have pointed to rising Medicaid costs and changes in federal policy as major drivers of the crunch. Republicans have argued the deficit reflects years of expanding programs the state cannot now afford to keep growing. (9news.com) (coloradopolitics.com) Colorado has been here before, but not with this many overlapping pressures at once. The House is now sending its budget work to the Senate, where lawmakers still have to decide which cuts stick before the state’s next fiscal year begins on July 1. (coloradonewsline.com)