The Colorado state government receives a significant amount of federal money. The proposed federal budget cuts of up to $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years would inevitably have massive impacts in our state.
Colorado lawmakers are making some very difficult choices this budget cycle, and some of the toughest will come in the next week as they work to close a $1.2 billion funding gap.
As President Donald Trump dismantles the U.S. Department of Education, questions are arising about what that means for Colorado school districts, which collectively received nearly $1.2 billion in federal funding in the 2023-24 federal fiscal year.
Read our update to our popular housing primer — a work that breaks down the lack of affordable housing and looks closely at who that affects most.
Part of our work here at the Bell includes pushing back on narratives that are misleading or inaccurate. That's exactly what we did when we penned this op-ed taking The Denver Post to task for saying that closing looming $750 million state budget deficit was a simple exercise in trimming budgetary fat, or could be accomplished by fixing some rounding errors. Please. We've spent a lot of time looking at these issues and solutions will be neither easy or harmless.
The 2025 legislative session could be a bumpy ride, driven by scarcity and the need to make substantial cuts to the Colorado state budget for 2025-26.
Colorado’s financial progress is being jeopardized by new, unregulated high-cost loans, where individuals get short-term, small-dollar advances, borrowing against their future paycheck and leading to cycles of debt.
In 2022, Colorado voters passed Proposition 123, dedicating approximately $300 million annually from the state’s TABOR surplus to support several programs to address housing affordability. Learn more.
Limited funds. Many competing priorities. There are no good choices when proposing a budget that requires recession-level cuts to state services. An investment in one government service means a reduction elsewhere.
Stay up to date on important bills headed through the Colorado General Assembly during the 2025 session.
