budget
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Denver City Council to sift through mayor’s proposed budget
Mayor Michael Hancock’s $3.75 billion budget will be under scrutiny this week as Denver City Council holds its first of 17 budget hearings today. The first meeting will be an overview of the proposed budget the mayor presented to council last week, which includes a $1.66 billion General Fund. Overall, he’s asking for a more than…
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2022 SESSION: CONFRONTING CRISES | Actions of the 2022 General Assembly
2022 offered legislators the first real opportunity to set an ambitious agenda after two years of limping through the global pandemic, but Colorado’s emergence out of the COVID-19 crisis also unleashed a torrent of challenges. There were many familiar problems, such as housing, behavioral health and wildfires, as well as new ones, notably soaring inflation…
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Polis signs $36.4 billion budget – the largest in Colorado history
Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a $36.4 billion spending plan – the biggest so far in Colorado’s history – that funds the state’s priorities in the upcoming fiscal year. All told, the budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 allocates roughly $2.5 billion more compared to current allocations. Counting general fund money alone, the budget includes major increases in several areas,…
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District 11 Board of Education votes to dissolve equity department
Less than two years after Colorado Springs School District 11 adopted an equity policy and instituted a Department of Equity and Inclusion, the district’s Board of Education has voted to shut down the department. After a contentious discussion during a work session Wednesday, the board voted 4-2 not to fund the department in the 2022-2023…
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Colorado Senate adds roughly $800 million, passes $37.2 billion state spending plan
Colorado senators on Thursday approved a state budget for next year that ballooned to $37.2 billion after they added more than $783 million in new spending. The final vote on House Bill 1329 stood at 22-12, with Joint Budget Committee member Sen. Bob Rankin of Carbondale and Sen. Kevin Priola of Henderson, both Republicans, supporting…
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Colorado Senate adds $725 million to $36.4 billion spending plan for next year
Colorado senators unwound all the changes House members made to the proposed state budget and then added $725 million in spending, a move that highlighted the political machinations in the legislature in an election year. The revised budget still needs the full chamber’s vote, and, assuming the Senate approves the latest version, senators and representatives will…
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COVER STORY: DEADLY CARE | Scrutiny mounts as 14 Coloradans die under care of Office of Public Guardianship
Policymakers who launched a pilot program for the state to serve as guardian for individuals who have no family or friends and often end up in hospitals are scrutinizing its work, particularly following the deaths of 14 wards under its care. Alarmed by the deaths, Gov. Jared Polis also indicated he would seek more oversight…
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COVER STORY | Hot Topics of the 2022 General Assembly
With 2022 an election year, lawmakers traditionally back off a bit from introducing controversial bills. That’s why they have approved some of the biggest measures of the past six years – oil and gas reform, Colorado option, climate change and greenhouse gas – in odd-numbered years when they worry less about voter reactions at the ballot box. Will…
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Gov. Jared Polis takes aim at COVID misinformation, presents 2022-23 budget
Gov. Jared Polis on Friday presented his 2022-23 budget to the Joint Budget Committee, whose members quizzed him on why he isn’t putting more money into higher education and how he intends to address a looming structural budget deficit. The governor also took aim at those spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, saying it is causing…
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Trump border wall plan threatens $77M in spending at Fort Carson
The Trump administration’s border wall project could raid $77 million in construction money from Fort Carson, according to a Pentagon list released to Congress on Monday. The list, released to The Gazette by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, puts more than $10 billion in military construction projects…