State Budget

The shortfall means two major things: The General Assembly will have to make funding cuts and it also has no money available to spend on new programs. Those two realities will shape the legislature’s entire 120-day lawmaking term.

The federal government shutdown delayed the release of key business and labor data, leaving forecasters in the dark about the true state of the economy.

The state price tag of administering the program has risen dramatically in recent years, far outpacing the voter-imposed cap on government growth and spending.

On Tuesday morning, around a hundred people gathered on the west steps of the state Capitol.

Each year the cycle continues, state lawmakers will have fewer ways to address the gap without cutting state programs and services. Skyrocketing Medicaid costs are primarily to blame.

Gov. Polis is asking lawmakers to slow spending on Medicaid and to privatize Pinnacol Assurance.

The money comes as part of the governor’s proposal that includes a small budget increase for the state’s universal preschool program.

Local governments across Colorado face budget deficits in 2026. Some are tapping their reserves to keep people fed as SNAP benefits lapse.

Over the last decade Medicaid spending has risen at a rate of 8.8% a year — about double what the state government is allowed to spend under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, according to the governor’s office.

One reason is that the state is paying out more to lower income residents through targeted tax credits.