reserve

Gov. John Hickenlooper presented his budget for 2012-13 today, and there was some good news, largely because of the slowly improving economy.

"Because of the hard work we did together in 2011 and 2012, the State's financial position is markedly improved," the governor said in a letter to the Joint Budget Committee. "Our plan reflects cautious optimism for Colorado's economy and a prudent, sustainable approach to managing the state's budget."

Here are some highlights as we see them:

State economists released quarterly estimates for state revenues on Wednesday. The Legislative Council staff and the governor????????s Office of State Planning and Budgeting see continued growth in Colorado????????s economy. Both agencies project the state will retain more revenue in the current fiscal year than they estimated in March.

Long Bill awaits governor???s action; Governor???s mill levy freeze passes House and Senate; Demise of rainy day fund bill a defeat for fiscal responsibility; Budget Watch takes a summer break

The next governor and legislature should enact a strategy to increase the General Fund statutory reserve by at least one percentage point each year to create a rainy day fund of at least 10 percent of the state General Fund within six years.

The next governor and legislature should enact a strategy to increase the statutory reserve by at least one percentage point each year to create a rainy day fund of at least 10 percent of the state General Fund within six years. One source of funding could be a portion of the excess reserves left over at the end of some fiscal years.