Joint Budget Committee

The Joint Budget Committee — the six-member, bipartisan panel that drafts the budget — tweaked the spending package after debate in the full legislature earlier in the month.

The Teacher Recruitment Education and Preparation program – also known as TREP -- gives students the opportunity to earn college credit without tuition costs.

Students, caregivers, immigrants, rural communities and parents will all feel the impact of Colorado’s $1.5 billion shortfall.

A parole backlog and new laws lengthening sentences are leading to a surge in the prison population.

The Joint Budget Committee rejected Gov. Jared Polis’ plan for the state to buy a prison and operate it itself.

Medicaid took the brunt of the final reductions, include a reimbursement rate cut for providers and a cap on Cover All Coloradans, which provides health care to immigrants who are children or pregnant.

Colorado’s Medicaid spending has grown dramatically in recent years, making it tough for the state’s budget writers to avoid deep cuts to the program.

Colorado's budget shortfall was $500 million higher than earlier projections.

The Department of Corrections says it needs money to fund additional beds. But Colorado lawmakers don’t want to keep writing short-term checks without a long-term plan.

The news was met with shock from state lawmakers, who have been reeling in recent weeks as they cut Medicaid and other state services to address a $1 billion budget shortfall.