Senate Gives Initial Sign Off on State Budget to Invest in Colorado Families, Set Students Up for Success, and Save People Money

$36 billion budget includes resources to improve public safety and create a healthier Colorado

DENVER, CO - The Colorado Senate today gave initial approval to the FY 2022-2023 Long Appropriations Bill to make historic investments in K-12 education and set students up for success, save families and businesses money, improve public safety, and create a healthier Colorado.

“This budget strikes an important balance between meeting the urgent needs of our state and prudently setting the state up for financial security for years to come,” said Joint Budget Committee (JBC) Vice Chair Senator Chris Hansen (D-Denver). “We’re making critical investments to prepare Colorado’s students for success, clean up our air and create a healthier environment, and improve public safety - all while keeping us on solid financial footing this year and into the future. We’ve worked hard to create a balanced, thoughtful budget that will help ensure every Coloradan has what they need to thrive.”

“One of our top responsibilities as a legislature is to balance the state’s budget in the most reasonable and meticulous manner,” said JBC member Senator Rachel Zenzinger (D-Arvada). “This budget hits the mark. We’re delivering for Colorado families by making investments in K-12 education, reducing fees for businesses and professionals to save people money, and investing in health care for children and pregnant women. This budget will help support our families, provide for our communities, and move Colorado forward.”

Setting Students Up for Success

The budget makes record investments in K-12 education to increase funding for public schools and puts more resources directly into Colorado classrooms. Schools will receive, on average, a $569 increase per student to reduce classroom sizes, provide individualized support to help students learn, and ensure that every student has what they need to thrive.

The budget also eliminates $250 million of the budget stabilization factor this year - bringing us closer than ever before to fulfilling our funding obligations to education - and sets aside $300 million to further invest in public schools. It also invests $6.5 million to fund the new Department of Early Childhood, bringing Colorado one step closer to implementing universal preschool in 2023.

Saving People Money

Amid rising prices, and in order to save Coloradans money, the budget sets aside millions to reduce fees for small businesses, and prioritizes licensing fee relief for frontline workers, including nurses and mental health professionals.

It further provides targeted support for rural communities by leveraging federal dollars to support rural economic development, and includes $200 million to provide property tax relief for Coloradans.

Creating a Healthier Colorado

The budget provides $29.8 million to improve health care for children and pregnant women enrolled in the Child Health Plan Plus, and increases funding for behavioral health community programs by $54 million.

The budget also includes funding for Medicaid fee-for-service payments for a limited set of behavioral health services to treat mental health conditions and diagnoses that are not currently covered, such as autism spectrum disorders.

Further, it includes millions to improve Colorado’s air quality by increasing air quality monitoring, establishing an electric lawn equipment rebate program for public entities, and replacing old monitoring equipment.

Building Safer Communities

The budget boosts the capabilities of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to help local law enforcement solve and prevent crimes. It also sets aside funding for legislation to support crime prevention and intervention strategies and reduce recidivism, including resources to support local law enforcement initiatives to recruit, train and retain a high-quality, diverse law enforcement workforce.

Finally, the budget includes $7 million for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers, and includes funding to help 9-1-1 dispatchers retain and recruit the staff they need, ensuring communities have the resources necessary to respond to emergencies.

Improving Colorado’s Transportation Infrastructure

The budget directs nearly $50 million in funding generated through SB21-260, signed into law last year, to get critical road maintenance projects under way to reduce traffic and invest in multimodal and clean energy transportation options to modernize our state’s transportation system.

The Senate will give final approval to the FY 2022-2023 Long Appropriations Bill tomorrow, April 7, 2022. Track the bill’s progress HERE.