DENVER, Colo. — For the second time this year, Colorado is facing a massive budget shortfall, and the legislature’s top Democratic leaders blame President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill."
State budget officials released new projections on Wednesday, showing the current budget is suddenly $1.2 billion in the red.
“Right now, we don’t have the cash to pay our bills,” Colorado budget director Mark Ferrandino told lawmakers. "We are talking about a budget and a revenue shortfall equivalent or greater than what we saw during the Great Recession."
Some lawmakers were left shell-shocked and worried for Coloradans struggling to make it.
"They are about to get whacked in a way that I don't think they really understand,” said State Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder.
Colorado's constitution requires the state budget to be balanced. Lawmakers told Scripps News Denver that's going to require them to make painful cuts to programs people depend on.
"It is going to be hard, and there will be cuts,” said Amabile. “There's no way we're doing this without cutting programs."
Democrats blame Trump and Congressional Republicans who voted for the president’s "big, beautiful bill." Because of the tax changes made in the bill, the state is collecting less revenue than lawmakers expected when they approved the budget in May, according to Colorado Democrats.
“Coloradans didn’t choose this. Congressional Republicans — including Lauren Boebert, Jeff Hurd, and Gabe Evans — chose tax giveaways for billionaires and blind loyalty to President Trump over the needs of their own constituents,” said Colorado Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver.
Republicans at the state and federal levels pushed back on that narrative. The four Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation — U.S. Reps. Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd, Lauren Boebert, and Jeff Crank — issued a joint statement on Wednesday.
“Colorado Democrats are scrambling to clean up the mess they created, and now they’re trying to shift blame for the consequences of their own failed policies. While Democrats find new ways to increase taxes and fees, Republicans are protecting Medicaid for those who truly need it, removing tax on tips and overtime, and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly,” the statement read. “Colorado Republicans are proud to deliver real, lasting reforms to ensure our state is a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.”
State Sen. Cleave Simpson, a Republican from Alamosa and the Senate minority leader, said Colorado has a spending problem.
"The state's been in an identified structural deficit for several years,” said Simpson. “We can't keep up with the level of spending that we've created here in the General Assembly."
That's a concern Scripps News Denver viewers have also raised many times in the past. Scripps News Denver asked Amabile, a Democratic member of the Joint Budget Committee, if the state has a spending problem.
"I find that kind of laughable. We cannot raise taxes in Colorado without asking the voters. We have to balance our budget every year,” Amabile said. "We are not able to have a spending problem because we have all of these constraints on our ability to tax and spend."
Many lawmakers expect Governor Jared Polis to call a special session to address the budget shortfall. Ferrandino said the governor is considering calling a special session in late August.
The governor’s office said Polis is still evaluating the impact of the federal spending bill.
“Governor Polis has been open about the sad reality that the state can’t make up for the funding that President Trump and Republicans are taking away from Coloradans,” said Ally Sullivan, a spokesperson for the governor. “The Governor has previously indicated we may need to reconvene the General Assembly to deal with the terrible impacts from the bill, and we are still reviewing the impacts of this new law to evaluate next steps, including a potential special session.”
If Polis calls a special session, it will be the third year in a row he has called a special session, and the fourth time since he took office in 2019.
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