general fund

Economists gave state lawmakers good news about Colorado's economy and state revenues in their quarterly forecasts to the Joint Budget Committee today.

Colorado's economy is growing at a steady pace and is outperforming the U.S. economy. In fact, it was growing faster during the summer months than previously thought. The data used for the September forecast has been revised upward, showing stronger growth in jobs and income, according to Natalie Mullis, the Legislative Council Staff's chief economist.

State revenues are expected to grow over the next two fiscal years and will be higher than projected in March, economists told the Joint Budget Committee today.

Even with this relatively strong growth, revenues are only now returning to pre-recession levels. In fact, the Office of State Planning and Budgeting stated, "Despite the growth, state general fund revenue is nearly $1 billion less (when adjusted for inflation) than it was five years ago."

Last Friday, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law Senate Bill 12-128, which will create a pilot program to help determine whether assisted-living facilities represent a cost-effective alternative for providing long-term care, as well as a better choice for residents and their families who are weighing their options.

Article in link includes two charts provided by the Bell Policy Center.

By Matt Sidor
The Scribe
(University of Colorado at Colorado Springs)

On April 27, the University of Colorado Board of Regents voted in favor of tuition increases across all CU campuses for the 2012-2013 academic year.

House Bill 12-1075

Testimony to the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee

Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research

April 30, 2012

The Colorado General Assembly will take up the state's budget this week. The so-called Long Bill (HB 1335) started in the House on Monday and is expected to move to the Senate by the end of the week.