Governor Polis signs $40.6 billion Colorado state budget

Sarah Wilson

(Colorado Newsline) Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed the state’s $40.6 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, praising historic funding for public education and lawmakers’ bipartisan work to craft a more normal budget as pandemic relief funds dry up.

“We had less money than in previous years, but the hallmark of a good budget is one where, regardless of what you have, you listen to your constituents and prioritize the funds you have to meet the moment and do what the public expects with resources states,” said Rep. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat who chairs the Joint Budget Committee, the bipartisan panel charged with writing the budget.

It’s a 3.7 percent increase over last year’s budget and reflects a roughly $1 billion increase in general fund spending.

The Department of Health Care Financing and Policy will see the largest dollar increase from the general fund with an increase of $512 million, primarily due to increased Medicaid costs, followed by the Department of Human Services with an increase of $204 million, the Treasury Department with $153. million, the Department of Justice with an increase of $75 million and the Department of Corrections with an increase of $71 million.

The budget achieves a long-standing goal of fully funding K-12 public education in the state for the first time in 14 years by eliminating the so-called budget stabilization factor. The school funding shortfall has been around since the Great Recession and is basically a $10 billion IOU to schools. The budget, through the school finance law, allocates about $141 million to get rid of it.

Although public school funding will increase by more than $500 million and $737 per pupil, spending will be at 1989 levels when adjusted for inflation.

“We were able to buy and pay for the budget stabilization factor this year, but only because of the year before and the year before and the year before — a series of decisions that were stacked on top of each other. led to this point,” said Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada and JBC vice chair.

The budget also increases funding for special education by 10.2 percent and for English language learners by 10.6 percent, increases of $34.7 million and $3.3 million respectively. Another bill related to the budget also allocates $24 million from the state’s education fund directly to schools to support the increase in migrant students in public schools, primarily in Denver.

The budget allows for tuition increases at Colorado public universities of 3 percent for in-state students and 4 percent for out-of-state students.

The department in charge of Colorado’s universal preschool program, which is finishing its first year, will also see a $22 million increase to support the program and hopefully resolve technology and administrative issues.

Most of the amendments that the House and Senate introduced to the budget during floor debates did not make it into the signed version. The Joint Appropriations Committee retained parts of the amendments that fund services for older adults, services for victims of crime, a youth services program and school safety grants.

The budget also makes investments in workforce development and retention. It is spread among several departments, including just over $9 million to the Department of Corrections and about $700,000 to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. There is a global salary increase of 3% for State employees.

In addition, the budget provides $65 million to the Department of Health Care Financing and Policy to increase wages for home and community service workers. This sets the base wage for these workers at $16.55 statewide.

The next fiscal year begins on July 1.