Budget

At the most recent meeting of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Bell Policy Center voiced strong concerns about Gov. John Hickenlooper's proposed $30 million in cuts to the state's need-based and work-study financial aid programs in his FY 2012-13 budget request. Such cuts could reduce post-secondary educational opportunity for many low- and middle-income Coloradans.

We're looking to spark a good conversation – on the state budget.

After three years of cutbacks, after cutting K-12 and higher education, after closing state parks and prisons, more and more Coloradans are asking questions about state finances and our fiscal challenges.

We think Coloradans want to talk about the state budget.

Peter Marcus
Denver Daily News

There's nothing like historic budget cuts to end a newly elected politician's honeymoon – that and a good snow storm.

Gov. John Hickenlooper already had his brush with public bitterness stemming from a blizzard in 2006 when he was mayor of Denver. This time around, he is dealing with bitterness stemming from a proposed $411 million in cuts to education, including a historic $375 million in cuts to K-12 education, and another $36 million from higher education.

By Kirk Seigler
KUNC

Audio of this story

Colorado ranks near the bottom nationally for higher education funding. And colleges and universities are bracing for yet another round of deep budget cuts. It's thought that most could see anywhere from a 15-20% cut later this spring, as federal stimulus money that had staved off layoffs and further tuition increases runs out.

By Rich Jones
Director of Policy and Research
The Bell Policy Center

Posted on Colorado Trust's Community Connections blog

Colorado and the nation are slowly beginning to recover from the most wrenching economic recession since the Great Depression. However, even as the economy recovers, revenues to fund public services such as Medicaid are not likely to return to pre-recession levels any time soon.

Colorado is beginning to recover from the Great Recession.

Revenue estimates released today by the Legislative Council staff show that General Fund revenue for the current fiscal year is projected to come in about $230 million higher than estimated in December. Partly due to the increased revenue and the budget actions already taken by the legislature and governor, the General Fund is in balance for the current fiscal year.

By Peter Marcus
Denver Daily News

Colorado's fiscal and economic future is in "serious jeopardy" because of increased government control, according to a report released Monday by a conservative-leaning group.

But critics of the Americans For Prosperity Colorado report (published below) say the group is attempting to push a conservative agenda rather than honestly examine the state's economic future. Critics also call the "Colorado in Transition: Killing the Golden Goose" report to be "misleading," especially in the areas of health care and transportation.

Legislative economists project that Colorado will face an additional $40 million shortfall in its General Fund budget for fiscal year 2009-10 due to a continued drop in revenues since their September forecast.

By Jason Hoppin
St. Paul, Minn., Pioneer Press
Nov. 5, 2009

After seven years of budget battles, Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday proposed a constitutional amendment to limit state spending.

Under the plan, spending in Minnesota's two-year budgets could not exceed revenues raised during the previous biennium. The impact would be to limit spending, since revenues tend to grow with the economy.

By Ed Sealover
Denver Business Journal
Oct. 28, 2009

Medicaid providers will take another hit in the latest round of budget cuts unveiled by Gov. Bill Ritter Wednesday, but business leaders who have been asking him not to cut tax exemptions and credits can breathe a sigh of relief for now.