{"id":580817,"date":"2026-04-13T02:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T02:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/580817\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T02:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T02:25:14","slug":"colorado-house-debate-focuses-scrutiny-on-major-cuts-in-state-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/580817\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado House debate focuses scrutiny on major cuts in state budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Colorado House\u2019s initial debates over the state\u2019s proposed budget have put anguished focus on the areas hardest hit by lawmakers\u2019 attempts to close a $1.5 billion deficit<\/a>, from agriculture to health care to social services.<\/p>\n

Under consideration are cuts, big and small, that would affect areas including assistance for families that adopt children, health care for immigrant children without legal status, grants for solar energy projects in agriculture, compensation for health care providers, raises for state workers and substance abuse programs.<\/p>\n

Those programs \u2014 and dozens more \u2014 are likely victims of a\u00a0\u201cstructural deficit,\u201d in which costs in must-spend areas<\/a> are far outpacing how much money the government has to spend. That comes both in the trickle-down aftermath of federal tax cuts made last year through H.R. 1, commonly known as President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Beautiful Bill,\u201d and under the general growth constraints imposed by the Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights, or TABOR.<\/p>\n

In the paradox of government budgeting, the state general fund, which takes in the state\u2019s general tax collections and contains the most flexible money available to lawmakers, grew by 1.2% compared to last year. But rocketing costs in those must-spend areas \u2014 chiefly the prison system and Medicaid \u2014 necessitated broad cuts elsewhere across many areas and programs. In effect, spending more on Medicaid means less money to spend on other priorities.<\/p>\n

Overall, the state expects to have about $17.4 billion to spend in its general fund in the fiscal year that runs from July 1 to June 30, 2027, or about $212 million more than the current fiscal year. The overall budget is about $46.8 billion, with the balance made up by federal dollars and cash fees paid to specific programs.<\/p>\n

The general increase for the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing<\/a> alone, at $213 million, is greater than the total budget increase. That means the general fund budgets for most other departments \u2014 13 of the 22 that receive general fund dollars \u2014 would be cut.<\/p>\n

Other than Health Care Policy and Financing, which oversees Medicaid and is commonly referred to as HCPF, the only departments that would see general fund increases of more than $10 million are Corrections, at nearly $69 million; Judicial, at nearly $31 million; and Treasury, at $14 million.<\/p>\n

But those increases mask a swath of cuts of varying size as the state has grappled with a projected overall budget shortfall of $1.5 billion, driven by spiking costs associated with the prison population and Medicaid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two drivers are HCPF and Corrections. Without question,\u201d said Rep. Rick Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican on the Joint Budget Committee. \u201cIf you take those caseloads out, then we\u2019d have actually reduced spending across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even in Medicaid, as the overall budget rises, there\u2019s a need for cuts to individual programs to keep surging costs under control. According to staff analysis<\/a> from House Democrats, the budget cuts would amount to $270 million in total from Medicaid, $340 million taken from the state reserves, and $150 million generated from cuts across smaller departments. More money would be saved by not giving across-the-board pay raises to state employees and by taking money from cash funds and other prior investments.<\/p>\n

Taken together, these and other moves are what would close the $1.5 billion budget gap \u2014 the third time in two years the legislature has had to scramble to find money<\/a> to close a massive deficit.<\/p>\n

The formal budget proposal was released Monday, with the House spending much of the week debating the spending plan. During marathon meetings, the body\u2019s members \u2014 primarily led by Republicans in the minority \u2014 sought to amend the document and move money around to other priorities. <\/p>\n

The vast majority of those amendments died; a handful stuck, at least for now. One in particular seeks to shift more money to the Cover All Colorado program, which mirrors Medicaid for immigrant children and pregnant women who lack legal status; its cost has shattered spending projections. The Joint Budget Committee is set to take one more crack at the document to reconcile any imbalance created by adopted amendments.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, a House Republican slowed the budget debate\u2019s pace to a crawl. Rep. Brandi Bradley, of Littleton, asked that the entire 661-page budget bill be read at length<\/a> in protest of how the House handled an ethics complaint<\/a>. As of Friday afternoon, the computer program being used to read the bill aloud was roughly halfway through the 15-hour task.<\/p>\n

The delay set the House up for a likely weekend of work to finish its debate on the budget and to conduct a formal vote.\n<\/p>\n

Once the budget clears the House, the process will begin again in the state Senate this week, before heading to the governor\u2019s desk. That will kick off the final sprint of the120-day legislative session as lawmakers try to pass their priority bills before adjournment on May 13.<\/p>\n

\u2018A lot of very, very painful cuts\u2019<\/p>\n

The HCPF department, despite receiving the steepest general fund increase, also faces some of the steepest cuts to specific programs and benefits \u2014 more than $162 million that would have otherwise gone to dental benefits, the health care program for undocumented immigrant children, pay for health care providers, and services for people with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n

Some of the cuts are huge, with potentially far-reaching consequences this year and next. <\/p>\n

A general 2% cut to how much health care providers are paid out for Medicaid services is expected to save the state $84 million in general fund dollars, and $222 million in the total budget because of lost federal matching dollars. Medicaid providers, however, worry about what this would mean for their long-term sustainability.<\/p>\n

That cut is not universal, however. The budget committee, in its spending proposal, exempted neonatal intensive care units \u2014 which specialize in care for prematurely born babies and young infants \u2014 and pediatric behavioral therapy for people with autism from the cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other large cuts include reductions in rates paid for nonemergency medical transportation by $15.4 million in general fund dollars and $51.4 million overall. That program, in which contractors provide transport services for Medicaid patients, has been plagued by fraud<\/a>. The budget would cut the overall pickup fee for clients from $36.40 to $4, but it would leave the mileage fee, which is $3 per mile, untouched.<\/p>\n

That proposed cut, however, has met resistance from some members of the legislature\u2019s Democratic majority, who worry it would devastate small businesses. Attempts to amend the budget bill to erase that change, however, failed.<\/p>\n

Budget writers are also running a bill that would pare back the new Cover All Colorado health care program for immigrant children and pregnant women. House Bill 1411<\/a> would eliminate long-term services for people who are not already enrolled in those programs, and it would cap dental services, limit behavioral health services and cap enrollment for future fiscal years. <\/p>\n

That bill is running as an orbital to the budget bill, or one of the dozens of proposed new laws that are budget-related but don\u2019t fit specifically in the main budget bill.<\/p>\n

That program faced severe cost overruns after enrollment and use far outpaced what analysts predicted. Tens of thousands of migrants arrived in Denver<\/a> during the Biden administration, including thousands sent to the city by Republican governors<\/a> of other states protesting federal policy. An Associated Press tally<\/a> found Denver had the fourth-highest number of migrant arrivals on a per-capita basis.<\/p>\n

What forecasters predicted in 2022 would cost the state general fund about $15 million this fiscal year has ended up costing $104 million. Some 21,000 children are enrolled in the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in a situation where this program is growing at an unsustainable rate,\u201d said Rep. Kyle Brown, a Democrat on the budget committee. \u201cBut ultimately, we are talking about kids and pregnant folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taggart, the Republican House member on the budget committee, called it\u00a0\u201cthe most painful bill I\u2019ve ever been on\u201d \u2014 one characterized by lost sleep and tears as lawmakers have sought a compromise to keep the program going.<\/p>\n

\u201c(This cut) tests your value system, and it continues to test my value system,\u201d Taggart said. He worried about children who likely had no say in coming to Colorado now losing health care coverage, as well as about hospitals needing to pay for care without the hope of being paid back.<\/p>\n

\"WendyWendy Lamm, of Castle Rock, left, and her husband, Stephen, right, and their son, Evan, join other families of people with developmental disabilities to protest cuts to their Medicaid services at Civic Center Park in Denver on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

The budget committee also made a series of changes in the budget proposal to programs for intellectually and developmentally disabled people who need around-the-clock support, amounting to a $17 million savings. <\/p>\n

Those include ending automatic enrollment for youth who are aging out of certain child assistance programs, requiring individuals who are able to help pay for residential services to contribute, and reducing waitlist funding. The last one would mean that for every two people who disenroll from the developmental disability waiver program, only one person would be enrolled. <\/p>\n

That waitlist is already seven years long, according to nonpartisan staff analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As cuts like those mount, the overall spending in Medicaid continues to grow. The budget committee is earmarking another $351 million in general fund dollars for general medical spending, $45 million for behavioral health services, and $32 million for the Office of Community Living, which provides long-term support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.\n<\/p>\n

The Department of Human Services is facing an $11 million cut, the largest straight cut of any department. (Though the Department of Education is losing $82 million in general fund dollars, that would largely be replaced by money from the state education fund.)<\/p>\n

The DHS cuts include cutting funding by half for a transitional jobs program for low-income adults and $2.2 million in cuts to benefits for families that adopt children or provide guardianship as a child\u2019s relatives.\n<\/p>\n

Among moderately sized departments, the Department of Agriculture stands out for taking the largest cut as a percentage of its general fund budget. Its $20.4 million budget would be cut by nearly 10%, to $18.4 million. About $700,000 of the cut is to end or reduce grants for solar energy in agriculture, for conservation and for equine welfare.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a lot to take in,\u201d Rep. Emily Sirota, the chair of the budget committee, told her fellow Democrats while previewing the budget. \u201cThese are a lot of very, very painful cuts we didn\u2019t want to have to make. And now you\u2019re being asked to maintain them so we can keep a balanced budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prison costs draw consternation<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most controversial part of the budget, at least among the Democrats, is the Department of Corrections\u2019 proposed increase. <\/p>\n

That department\u2019s $69 million in general fund growth would represent a 6.1% year-over-year increase \u2014 easily the largest percentage increase among the so-called Big Six departments that make up the bulk of the general fund budget. The department\u2019s overall general fund budget is nearly $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n

The proposed increase, juxtaposed with cuts to a slew of programs for the lowest-income Coloradans, drew frequent comparisons from Democratic members of the House.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this conversation every single year \u2014 about more beds, more money for prisons \u2014 when today we\u2019re going to be talking about a lot of tough cuts,\u201d Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat, said during a caucus meeting Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The single-largest cost increase outlined in the budget bill is $27.1 million for medical care for inmates. Sirota, from the budget committee, said that about a fifth of the inmates, or about 4,000 people, are at least 50 years old \u2014 technically geriatric, per the DOC\u2019s definitions. <\/p>\n

The number of people being kept in prison, versus released on parole and for other reasons such as health, has become an increasing frustration for lawmakers. The Joint Budget Committee earlier this year temporarily rejected a request<\/a> by Gov. Jared Polis for more prison funding because its members wanted to see a plan for lowering the overall prison population.<\/p>\n

Polis made a late request to the committee to spend up to $200 million on new prisons to handle the growing number of inmates. The committee rejected that request, opting instead to budget about $13 million for private prison beds in the hopes it would be a temporary solution to a temporary problem.<\/p>\n

Sirota told the other Democrats that she shared their \u201cintense frustration\u201d about the increased cost for prisons. But the committee also has an obligation to budget for projected costs based on current law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system is not setting us up for success in terms of reducing the prison population,\u201d Sirota said. \u201cSo, if the General Assembly wants to see more people heading to community corrections, I think there needs to be significant discussions and policy changes made.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Colorado House\u2019s initial debates over the state\u2019s proposed budget have put anguished focus on the areas hardest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[2342,3832,9040,66886,48144,9045,66887,4515,1840,77099,12,526,4142,97,252,253,790,10476,2558,1341,3,111,254685,2186,1870,241413,104544,104545,146824],"class_list":{"0":"post-580817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-agriculture","9":"tag-colorado","10":"tag-colorado-department-of-health-care-policy-and-financing","11":"tag-colorado-general-assembly","12":"tag-colorado-legislature","13":"tag-colorado-news","14":"tag-colorado-politics","15":"tag-democrats","16":"tag-denver","17":"tag-disabilities","18":"tag-donald-trump","19":"tag-education","20":"tag-front-range","21":"tag-health","22":"tag-health-care","23":"tag-healthcare","24":"tag-immigration","25":"tag-jared-polis","26":"tag-latest-headlines","27":"tag-medicaid","28":"tag-news","29":"tag-politics","30":"tag-prison-population","31":"tag-republicans","32":"tag-solar-energy","33":"tag-state-general-fund","34":"tag-tabor","35":"tag-taxpayers-bill-of-rights","36":"tag-undocumented"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}