Senate Advances State Budget to Invest in Families, Set Students Up for Success, and Keep Colorado Strong

Budget includes resources to improve community safety, shore up public health, among other priorities

DENVER, CO – The Colorado Senate today gave initial approval on second reading to the FY 2023-2024 Long Appropriations Bill to invest in families, set students up for success, and create safer and healthier communities across Colorado. 

The $38.5 billion budget is a $1.2 billion increase over last year’s budget. Two-thirds of that increase is attributable to the end of enhanced federal Medicaid match rates, which are expiring as the declared COVID public health emergency winds down. 

“Balancing the state’s budget in a responsible and thoughtful manner is one of our most urgent priorities as a legislature, and I am pleased to say that this year’s budget hits the mark,” said JBC Chair Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada. “We’re delivering for Colorado families by making record investments in K-12 education, supporting our health care workers, and creating safer communities - all while keeping our state on solid financial footing. We’ve worked hard to create a balanced, thoughtful budget that funds the infrastructure we need to meet our obligations to our families and communities while helping ensure every Coloradan has what they need to thrive.”

“This budget reflects our core Colorado values of opportunity, independence, and responsibility,” said JBC member Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village. “The investments we’re making today will prepare our students for success, increase our housing supply, respond to workforce needs, and lower the cost of health care for our Colorado families. All in a balanced budget that puts Colorado on a sound and sustainable fiscal path into the future.”

The budget sets aside a total of $469 million in General Fund for one-time uses, including:

• $103 million for workforce-related legislation including free credentials, math, scholarships, adult education, and concurrent enrollment

• $221 million for housing related legislation, including property tax relief, land use, public-private partnerships, implementation of Prop 123

• $16 million for other priorities such as the Rural Opportunity Office, line of duty loss fund, wildfire resources, & Prop 122 implementation

The budget maintains a 15 percent ($2.3 billion) General Fund reserve to prepare for the next economic downturn, and designates $543 million in cash assets for the constitutionally required State Emergency Reserve to pay for emergencies like for wildfires or floods.

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS

Ensuring Colorado students receive the support they need is a key goal of the legislature, and this budget provides a record investment in our students. In this budget total state and local funding for public schools will increase by $485 million, including a record increase in per-pupil funding by $900 per student. 

The bill also provides funding to help implement the Office of Early Childhood and Colorado’s landmark Universal Pre-K program.

Democrats are also addressing higher education needs through a 10 percent year-over-year increase in higher education funding, totaling $137 million alongside a 5 percent cap on tuition increases.

Finally, this budget provides $18 million for facility schools and expansions of services for students with extremely severe and specialized needs, and $1 million for the School Transformation Grant Program, which trains and supports school leaders working to turn around academic performance in the state’s lowest performing schools.

CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES

Every Coloradan deserves to live a happy and healthy life. This budget includes a 3 percent provider rate increase, to help providers facing cost increases due to inflation and other factors. The budget also implements the new 5 percent across-the-board increase for state employees, ensuring a $15 minimum wage for every state employee.

The budget also includes funding to implement the Office of Behavioral Health, and $3.8 million to bolster staffing and operating expenses to implement a statewide media campaign to increase routine immunization rates through the use of a mobile clinic program.

WILDFIRE MITIGATION

Wildfire season lasts year-round in Colorado, and this budget provides badly-needed support to help our state better address and investigate wildfires. The budget provides $26 million to fund the acquisition of a second Firehawk helicopter which will improve the state’s ability to respond to catastrophic wildfires. 

In order to better understand the origins of wildfires in our state, the budget also includes $6.4 million to increase resources for fire investigation and data collection.

IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY

Democrats are committed to creating safer communities across our state. The budget provides $5 million for the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Program, $2 million to create a new Office of School Safety, and $6 million for the School Security Disbursement Program.

The budget also increases pay for Criminal Investigators and State Patrol Troopers.

The Long Bill will now be heard on third and final reading before moving to the House for further consideration. Track the bill’s progress HERE.