Legislative binge ongoing despite billion-dollar budget gap
Despite Colorado’s $1.2 billion budget deficit, increasing regulatory woes, and a souring economic outlook, the state legislature continues to proliferate new legislation that promises to increase government size and spending. The 120-day 2025 legislative session is beyond the halfway point, and Colorado’s 35 senators and 65 representatives have introduced over 500 bills so far, with […]
The 2025 Regular Session Data
Below are multiple interactive charts that display data collected from Colorado General Assembly fiscal reports from the 2025 regular legislative session. The state legislature is beyond the midpoint of the 120-day regular session, which started in January and ends in May. The data below presents the FTE/fiscal impact of every proposed legislation introduced in the […]
Colorado’s spending joyride on a collision course with reality
It is well known by now that Colorado’s budget is on an unsustainable path. While there’s considerable disagreement about what is driving the issue and what the solution might be, one thing is for sure: trying to lay blame on the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) is just pure deflection. As I have written previously, […]
Senate Bill 138: Putting broad-based tax relief ahead of special interests
New legislation has been introduced that is crucial towards creating a more sustainable state budget, as well as putting broad-based income tax relief for Coloradans ahead of special interest loopholes. Senate Bill 25-138, sponsored by Sen. John Carson, a Republican from Douglas County, improves on a similar bill passed last year by first reducing the […]
Colorado Legislature’s Over-Spending Problem Explained
Colorado legislators are discovering first-hand the impossibility of having their cake and eating it too. The Joint Budget Committee continues to meet with dozens of departments to reconcile an approximately $750 million budget shortfall in 2025, with some absurdly claiming that deficit is purely a result of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) at work. […]
Course Correction Needed for Colorado’s Economic Outlook
The University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business recently released their 60th annual Business Outlook for 2025, and, despite a moderate outlook in 2025, the report includes some disturbing trends in the Colorado economy. Let’s take a look at some of what’s going wrong. Troubling trends As pointed out by Denver Post business writer Aldo Svaldi, Colorado was the […]
