general fund

By Scot Kersgaard
The Colorado Independent
(Also posted on The American Independent)

Now that this year's legislative session is safely behind us, maybe it's time to talk about the state budget. That, anyway, seems to be the premise behind a video released today by the Bell Policy Center and ProgressNow Colorado.

The six-minute animated video bills itself as a plain-English introduction to Colorado's budget-where the money comes from and where it goes.

House Bill 11-1280
Testimony to the Senate Local Government Committee
Wade Buchanan, President
May 10, 2011

My name is Wade Buchanan and I am President of the Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a non-partisan public policy center and advocacy organization committed to making Colorado a state of opportunity for all. I am speaking today in opposition to HB 11-1280, which would reinstate the 6 percent annual growth formula for General Fund appropriations.

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.

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.

Colorado remains mired in a deep recession. General Fund revenues are projected to fall short by more than $1 billion over the next two fiscal years.  

Budget cuts are a certainty. They will be real, and they will hurt. That makes it imperative that Gov. Bill Ritter and legislators approach budget decisions thoughtfully and strategically.  

The Denver Post
Guest commentary
(Editor's note: This guest commentary is part of a point-counterpoint about Colorado's budget crisis. Companion commentary by Barry Poulson.)

By Wade Buchanan, Chris Watney and Carol Hedges

This year, Colorado's General Fund revenues will hit their lowest point in recent history, and the implications are dire for the state and its residents.

The Bell Policy Center is a nonpartisan public policy center and advocacy organization. I am speaking today in support of SB 09-228, to repeal the Arveschoug-Bird 6 percent limit on General Fund appropriations and increase the legislature’s flexibility to appropriate state revenues.

The Bell has been studying state fiscal policy since 2001, when we began researching the impacts of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). This work intensified with the economic downturn and the historic decline in state revenues during the first half of this decade.

By Rich Jones
Director of policy and research
jones@thebell.org

State revenues will fall about $250 million short of appropriations for the fiscal year that ends next week, according testimony today by state economists before the Joint Budget Committee. Estimates from the economists are worse than their projections in March and show that the state's economy was weaker than anticipated in the second quarter.

Economists project that state revenues will continue to drop throughout 2009 and 2010, they said today in reports presented to the legislature's Joint Budget Committee. These estimates are substantially lower than what they projected in December and represent a significant decline from the amount of revenues the state took in during last fiscal year.

Email to supporters: It's not our habit to intrude with multiple emails on one subject, but there has been an important development with Senate Bill 228, and we wanted to share the news with you. SB 228, the proposal to eliminate the Arveschoug-Bird funding formula, was not heard as scheduled Tuesday afternoon, and part of the reason for the delay was to allow time for negotiations on key elements of the bill.