While families across Colorado are tightening their budgets due to rising costs and inflation, the state legislature has been on a spending spree using your taxpayer dollars.

Instead of focusing the 2024 legislative session on enacting meaningful reforms and advancing policy solutions that provide relief for Coloradans, Democrat-led majorities in the House and Senate have prioritized adding billions in new spending, expanding the state bureaucracy and attacking our state’s vital energy sector that provides family-supporting jobs.

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During this final month of the legislative session, the Democrat-led House recently advanced a $40.6 billion budget proposal that drastically grows the size of our state government — providing for an overall $2 billion increase compared to the last fiscal year. Furthermore, $8.5 million in new general fund expenditures remain unaccounted for in the budget proposal.

The budget proposal also creates 1,220 new positions on the state’s payroll, adding millions of dollars in new spending to an already bloated and bureaucratic system.

According to a 2023 Colorado Newsline report, Gov. Jared Polis established eight new entities through executive orders during his first four years in office. These new offices, agencies and commissions require millions in payroll and operating expenses. The legislature should focus on making the executive branch more accountable to the people — not expanding the bureaucracy on the backs of taxpayers.

Democrats have not only used their majorities in the Senate and House to grow the size of government, they have also used this session to attack our state’s energy sector. Colorado is the fourth-largest crude oil producer in America, providing 54,000 direct jobs and 249,320 indirect jobs across the state. In February, Sens. Kevin Priola (District 13) and Sonya Jaquez Lewis (District 17) introduced a bill that would eliminate new oil and gas permits by 2030. SB24-159 would destroy jobs and crush our state’s economy, costing $48.7 billion of the state’s total GDP.

Fortunately, lawmakers understood the harmful effects of SB24-159 and indefinitely postponed its consideration. Much of this legislative session was focused more on appeasing far-left activists than standing with the tens of thousands of Coloradans whose livelihoods depend on our oil and gas industry.

The 2024 legislative session should have been focused on helping Colorado families who are still struggling with record inflation and high energy costs. Instead, Democrats used their majorities to further increase spending and dramatically expand the size of government.

AFP-CO is an organization comprised of grassroots activists from across the state who are focused on advancing policy solutions that unleash freedom, opportunity, and prosperity for all. We will continue to hold Gov. Polis and Democrats accountable for their wasteful spending and misguided legislative proposals that would hurt our state. We invite all Coloradans who are concerned about the future of our state to join us as we fight against this out-of-control reckless spending.

Jesse Mallory is state director for Americans for Prosperity-Colorado.