With Colorado facing a budget gap exceeding $1.2 billion, lawmakers are preparing to wind down or sharply reduce a slate of recently-created programs — from teacher training to wildfire mitigation — as they search for for savings across state government.

While some of these newer programs will continue with reduced funding, others are being eliminated entirely. Below are initiatives the state recently created that lawmakers plan to scale back or discontinue.

Teacher preparation

The Teacher Recruitment Education and Preparation Program was created in 2021 through legislation that passed the Senate unanimously.

The law set up two initiatives to support students preparing to become teachers and provided high schools with just under $11,000 per participating student each year. According to Joint Budget Committee Chair Rep. Emily Sirota, D‑Denver, the program currently serves 193 students.

The Joint Budget Committee voted to reduce those payments to just over $7,000 per student for the 2026‑27 fiscal year, after which the program will end.

Students already enrolled in the program will be allowed to finish, but no new students will be allowed to join. The change is expected to save $1.6 million in the 2026‑27 fiscal year, money that would come from the state education fund.

Academic Accelerator Program

In 2021, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers passed House Bill 1231, which, in part, created the Colorado Academic Accelerator Grant Program.

The grant is intended to fund community learning centers that provide free academic support and offer families opportunities to engage in their students’ education. The grant prioritizes centers that build STEM skills and serve high-needs students.

The original bill appropriated $6.3 million for fiscal years 2023 through 2026. This year’s JBC bill cuts state funding for the grant program by about $5 million for 2026‑27, its final year.

Affordable Housing Finance Fund

In 2022, Colorado voters approved Proposition 123, which created the Affordable Housing Finance Fund.

The measure allows the state to retain tax revenue and divide it between the Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Department of Local Affairs to support affordable housing projects.

JBC members voted to withdraw $130 million from the Prop 123 fund and transfer it to the General Fund for the next fiscal year.

Some lawmakers raised concerns about diverting money voters earmarked for affordable housing, but JBC members noted that the ballot measure allows the state to use those funds when there is no TABOR surplus, which will be the case in the 2025‑26 fiscal year.

The $130 million would come from the portion of the funding that goes to the governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, which then funnels it to the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.

The funds would be transferred on June 30, 2026, keeping them within the 2025-26 fiscal year, but they would be used for the 2026-27 budget, in which there is likely to be a TABOR surplus.

Wildfire Resilient Homes Grant Program

House Bill 1273, passed in 2023, established a grant program within the Division of Fire Prevention and Control to provide homeowners with financial assistance to retrofit their properties to be more resilient against wildfires.

The bill set aside $100,000 in general funds for the Wildfire Resilient Homes Grant Program cash fund

The JBC bill, House Bill 26-1395, requires the Treasurer’s Office to transfer the $53,790 in the cash fund to the general fund on June 30, after which the grant program will be repealed.

Science Teacher Professional Development Program

A bill passed in 2024 required the Department of Education to develop a free professional development program for science teachers in Colorado. The program included instruction on intervention for students who are below grade level or struggling in science, as well as those with disabilities, gifted individuals, and English language learners. In exchange for participating in the program, educators received professional development credit toward their licensure renewal.

The bill, which received nearly unanimous support in both chambers, appropriated $3 million from the state education fund through the 2026-2027 fiscal year. 

House Bill 1354, sponsored by the JBC, reduces that appropriation to $1.5 million and repeals the professional development program in July of 2027.

Cover All Coloradans

Lawmakers created the Cover All Coloradans program in 2022, establishing health care coverage for children and pregnant women living illegally in the U.S.

The bill’s original fiscal note estimated the program would cost $27 million in the 2025‑26 fiscal year, but actual costs have reached nearly $90 million and could exceed $110 million in 2026‑27.

To reduce costs, lawmakers are shifting behavioral health services to a fee‑for‑service model and eliminating managed care and accountable care collaborative services. They also plan to cap enrollment for children at 25,000 — the program currently serves about 21,000 — and imposed additional spending limits.

Office of the Judicial Discipline Ombudsman

In 2023, lawmakers established the Office of the Judicial Discipline Ombudsman to serve as a resource for judicial department employees filing workplace culture or harassment complaints. The 2023 bill appropriated nearly $1 million for the office through the 2025-2026 fiscal year, but the office never came into existence.

According to the Colorado Sun, the state never hired staff for the agency, and some of the lawmakers who were allegedly appointed to serve on its board weren’t even aware of their appointments.

The JBC has passed a bill to repeal the Office of the Judicial Discipline Ombudsman, effective July 1, 2027.

Marianne Goodland contributed to this story.