I’ve been walking around the Colorado Capitol lately with the Talking Heads’ song “Crosseyed and Painless” stuck in my head.

It’s really just a few lines in the song: “Facts are simple and facts are straight. Facts are lazy and facts are late… I’m still waiting… I’m still waiting… I’m still waiting…”

But it hasn’t been the Talking Heads’ studio cut of the song off of the new wave band’s fourth studio album, “Remain in Light,” that’s been in my head. It’s been jam band giant Phish’s cover of the song, which has been known to evolve into live 20-minute ambient jams.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xloNvI6qo8s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xloNvI6qo8s</a>

As with any great jam band, you hope that those 20-minute jams hold enough structure throughout the journey that it can go off in a number of seemingly disconnected musical directions, while coming back to the original theme, only to climax into a composed explosion that releases the previous built-up tension to end in a great success.

Is an effort to restructure the Hospital Provider Fee to free money for roads, schools and hospitals going to end with similar success? It’s a maneuver to avoid a spending cap that triggers refunds to taxpayers, so that makes some lawmakers very hesitant to jump.

“I’m still waiting.”

When we left off last week, I highlighted a meltdown in the legislature in which the Republican sponsor of the Hospital Provider Fee effort, Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, became so frustrated with conversations that he said he was done negotiating. He quickly walked that back, saying that he’s “not ready to give up.”

“I’m still waiting.”

The bill had two chances to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. Bill sponsors delayed the hearings as they continue to negotiate.

“I’m still waiting.”

It’s next scheduled to be heard on May 2 at 8:40 a.m.

“I’m still waiting.”

And I wasn’t the only one waiting. The entire legislature has been waiting. The wait has been so intense that House Democrats even delayed passage of two budget package bills to see where the Hospital Provider Fee and a separate transportation funding effort would go.

Transportation funding died this week. Democrats, who control the House, apparently decided they couldn’t keep waiting on the Hospital Provider Fee bill. They finally moved the budget package forward, allowing the Joint Budget Committee on Thursday to send what they hope will be a final budget proposal to both chambers.

But you know who is still waiting on the Hospital Provider Fee bill? Rural Colorado, especially rural hospitals, some of which may have to close because the legislature plans on reducing revenue generated by the Hospital Provider Fee to avoid hitting the state spending limit and balance the budget.

The sticking point in the conversation remains the spending limit cap portion of the bill. Republicans first proposed lowering the cap by $670 million, but in an effort to appease Democrats, they offered to cut that in half and lower it by $335 million. Those conversations are ongoing.

“I’m still waiting.”

In addition to reclassifying the fee on hospital-bed occupancy to get out from under the spending cap, Senate Bill 267 also would create a 20-year bond program to direct $1.35 billion towards critical infrastructure, including for roads and highways.

At least 25 percent of the money would have to go towards projects in rural Colorado, with county populations of 50,000 or less.

And with less than two weeks left in the legislative session, rural Colorado is “still waiting.”

So, will the legislature come together like an exquisite improvised musical composition?

“I’m still waiting… I’m still waiting… I’m still waiting…”