Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday sent his proposal for next year’s state spending to the Joint Budget Committee, seeking funds that, after 14 years, will finally pay off the debt to K-12 schools.

The overall budget proposal from Polis seeks $43.5 billion, including $18.4 billion in general fund dollars. That does not include $2.5 billion in placeholders for Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds and capital construction, as well as a $200 million “hold” for Proposition HH. 

That’s an increase of 4.86%, according to the Office of State Planning and Budgeting. Last year, the request from Polis stood at $42.7 billion in total funds, counting money from federal dollars, general funds from tax collections and cash. Of that, $16.7 billion came from general fund dollars.  

Recent revenue forecasts show Colorado lawmakers may have more breathing room than expected for the fiscal year 2024-25 budget year, despite a projected decline in tax collections. 

Additional general fund revenues available to spend are estimated at $1.195 billion, about $23 million more than anticipated expenses, according to the September revenue forecasts. 

Polis pledged to pay off the K-12 debt, known as the budget stabilization factor, a year ago. In the 2023-24 budget, policymakers reduced the debt from $321.2 million in the previous year to $141.2 million.

The debt reached a peak of $1.052 billion in the COVID year of 2020-21, when budget writers feared an economic downturn and slashed state spending by billions. That downturn, however, didn’t materialize, and lawmakers worked quickly in the following year to cut the debt in half. They have made steady progress since then.

Polis isn’t stopping with the K-12 debt on financing public education.

“With this budget, we are finally fulfilling our promise to the voters to fully fund our schools. I am excited to work with the JBC and the General Assembly to increase teacher pay, reduce class size, and make sure every Colorado student has access to an excellent school,” Polis said in his budget submission.

His proposed total funding increase for K-12 education is $564.1 million, an average of $705 more per pupil. This is on top of last year’s budget’s increase of $1,019 per pupil, Polis said in his proposal.

Among the governor’s budget priorities for 2024-25: 

Public safety: Doubling down on his 2023 State of the State address pledge to get Colorado into the Top 10 safest states in the country, the governor is seeking $39.6 million to boost existing programs around auto theft, technology, victims rights and to prevent gun violence.

Housing: Polis will ask for $65 million to support the creation of new housing near transit, a key component of his failed housing bill in the 2023 session.

However, the housing initiative he seeks on transit is designed to work with local governments, which contrasts with this year’s Senate Bill 213, which would have put decision-making around transit-oriented housing into the hands of the Department of Local Affairs.

Polis will ask for $35 million to create a “Transit-Oriented Communities Infrastructure Fund,” which he said would assist local governments with infrastructure costs related to building housing near transit, and another $30 million in affordable housing tax credits. 

Polis will also seek funding for building more accessory dwelling units, another key part of SB 213. His budget proposes $18 million to fund the associated fees for local governments and assist with financing, and $16 million to create tax credits to support the creative sector with new housing units, placemaking, and revitalization projects. 

For renters, the governor is asking for $30 million in rental assistance, to be paired with longer-term resources from Proposition 123, and $10 million for strategic growth initiatives that the governor’s letter said would foster collaboration on local and regional housing needs.

Education: In addition to paying off the K-12 debt and increasing total program funding, the proposal seeks $8 million to support science education and enrichment programs, $5 million for work-based learning aligned with a task force, and Charter School Institute mill levy equalization. 

Health care: The budget ask seeks $26 million to support youth with high-acuity needs (intensive services for severe behavioral or emotional challenges sometimes paired with physical health issues). Another $15 million would be invested in public health infrastructure, $14.3 million to provide autism spectrum disorder coverage to all children enrolled in Colorado’s Children’s Basic Health Plan, $11 million to increase the resources for the Social Health Information Exchange, $8.5 million for behavioral health services in school and $4 million for a universal home-visiting pilot. 

Joint Budget Committee member Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, has long advocated for paying off the K-12 debt. But, in a statement on Wednesday, she spoke about income tax relief and criticized Polis for failing to take action. Thee governor has repeatedly called for reducing the state’s income tax rate in his annual address to lawmakers. 

“The governor continues to prove he is all talk and no action,” Kirkmeyer said. “For years, Gov. Polis has talked about providing tax relief for ALL Coloradans but has continuously failed to deliver. Earlier this year, the governor said it was a priority of his to reduce income taxes, yet nowhere in his budget proposal is this relief provided. I hope to see the governor join Republicans to save Coloradans money when we fight to cut taxes during a special session or during next year’s budget debate.”

Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, complimented the governor for pushing to payoff the K-12 debt.

“After years of Republican demands that we fully fund students – instead of growing state government, we are glad to see Gov. Polis chose to follow our leadership and prioritize funding for students and teachers,” Lundeen said.

But he also said the historically high reserves proposed in the 2024-25 budget – $2.3 billion – should be tapped to provide property tax relief in case Proposition HH loses at the ballot next week.

“Another important note,” Lundeen added, “the budget proposal holds $2.3 billion in historically high budget reserves. We should tap some of those reserves to provide property tax relief to Coloradans in the event that HH is properly defeated.”

House Minority Leader Rep. Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, took issue with Polis’ transit-oriented housing plan, pointing out that such communities would exist only in the Denver metro area.

“There is more to Colorado than just the Denver Metro Area. Coloradans across this state are experiencing a cost of living increase that is largely due to the housing market, yet this proposal only benefits select communities that are along RTD routes,” Lynch said. 

Polis’ budget proposal will be reviewed by the Joint Budget Committee, which begins its 2024-25 budget deliberations on Nov. 16.