The House on Thursday approved the Colorado government’s spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year on a party-line vote and sent it to the state Senate for consideration.

Lawmakers amended the $36.4 billion budget a dozen times on Wednesday, adding $63.5 million in cash and general fund dollars but stripping out $1.5 million in expansion funding from the Office of Public Guardianship.

The other amendments added funding for two agricultural programs, and money tied to the reintroduction of wolves in northern Colorado. 

Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Delta, told his House colleagues Wednesday that the federal government is requiring an environmental impact statement prior to the reintroduction of wolves, and that the state has to pay for it. The $1.9 million from the general fund would pay for that study, which would instead be done by the state, Catlin said. 

Catlin said if Coloradans want wolves, they’re going to have to pay for it.

During debate on House Bill 1329 Thursday, Republicans hammered on government growth. 

House Minority Leader Rep. Hugh McKean of Loveland said there is a larger story to tell about the budget, and not just the “minutiae” of moving dollars around. McKean noted the number of full-time employees the budget funds. He said that tells him about how much government has grown. 

He pointed to the Air Pollution Control Division within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which received $661,739 in the current year, but which will get $45 million more in general fund dollars in the upcoming year.

The money would pay for future obligations for several years, McKean said, citing what he learned from Joint Budget Committee staff.

“These are the kinds of concerns I have about obligating general fund in the out-years,” he said. “This is the big picture. When we see a 1,010.1% increase in general fund obligation [in one year], we ought to stop and take a look at it.”

That proposed funding for the division would pay for adding 82.6 full-time employees. 

Over the last eight years, the numbers in the budget kept growing, said Rep. Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock, who argued that’s by strategy and design.  

Programs start off with funding from gifts, grants and donations, and then the money dries up, creating pressure on the legislature to fund them, he told the House.

“Look at the strategy differences when we budget,” he said.

He argued that amendments to slash government spending – he and Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs offered nine of them in Wednesday’s debate – are meant to hold the executive branch accountable.

The governor could tell department heads to live within their means, but that hasn’t happened since he’s been in the legislature, Neville said.

He complained that lawmakers perennially “adopt the policies” the executive branch seeks, but they balk at funding programs that are truly needed, such as roads and bridges, and argue that no steady revenue stream exists for them.

Still, he noted, the budget has grown significantly over the years.

“I don’t see government as my deity. I don’t see government as the solution to all of society’s problems,” he said.

Government spending increases in the proposed budget, acknowledged Speaker Pro Tem Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, D-Adams County.

But she emphasized that the state population is growing, too, and that explains some of the growth in government.

She said the state must also be prepared for what comes next, and while the budget may be higher now, there could be cuts in the future. She added that those cycles of growth and cuts are part of the budget process.

She lauded the 15% increase in the general fund reserves, calling it “thinking ahead.”

“We need to be prepared for that downturn,” she said, adding decisions made in this budget are prudent and will deal with the ups and downs. 

Benavidez said the state needs to invest in critical areas, pointing to suicide rates, the housing crisis and transportation needs.

“Those are all important,” she said. “The decisions made in this budget are smart, fiscally sound … and if we have to make tougher decisions down the road, we can do that.” 

Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, noted the cuts from just two years ago.

“We didn’t have to do that this year,” the Joint Budget Committee member said. 

Herod also noted a complication – American Rescue Plan Act dollars that must be spent within a timeframe and communities begging for more support.

“This is a responsible and balanced budget for Colorado,” she said, adding it sets aside money for families, businesses and record investments in public schools. 

Directly speaking to a child who was in the gallery, Herod added, “This budget invests in your future.”

The 40-24 party-line vote included a “no” vote from JBC member Rep. Kim Ransom, R-Littleton, who while as a member of the JBC helps craft the budget, but votes against it every year.

The Long Appropriations Bill and its 14 accompanying measures that help balance the budget now head to the state Senate, where it will be introduced on Monday, according to Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City. The Senate Appropriations Committee will review it Tuesday, with caucuses Wednesday morning and second reading debate to follow the same day. A final vote is likely for Thursday.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to remove all the changes adopted this week by the House during the floor debate.