Colorado: Governor Polis Submits Supplemental and Budget Amendment Request that Protects Education and Public Safety Funding, Focuses on Medicaid Sustainability

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DENVER ~ In a recent press release, Governor Jared Polis announced his submission of the 2025-26 supplemental and budget amendment requests to the Joint Budget Committee. The proposal aims to maintain a balanced budget while also prioritizing funding for education, healthcare, and public safety.

Governor Polis stated, "We are focused on protecting the issues that Coloradans care most about - education, access to health care and safety - while delivering a balanced budget for Colorado." He acknowledged the challenging decisions that lie ahead for the Joint Budget Committee in this difficult budget environment and expressed his willingness to work with them and the rest of the General Assembly.

The Governor's budget proposal includes a 13% reserve to protect Colorado from potential economic downturns. In terms of education funding, the proposal allocates $167 million in state funding for school finance and implements 30% of the new school finance formula in FY 2026-27. It also increases per pupil funding by $413 over FY 2025-26, bringing it to a total of $12,272. This is more than 50% higher than when Governor Polis took office.

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Furthermore, the proposal supports the State Education Fund by transferring any excess funds from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund at the end of each fiscal year. This will help ensure continued support for education in Colorado.

The budget also addresses competency and public safety concerns by allocating over $34 million for resources such as secure placements and community-based supervision for individuals found incompetent to proceed in court cases. The Polis administration aims to bridge the gap in care for these individuals within Colorado's criminal justice system.

Another significant aspect of the proposal is disaffiliating Pinnacol Assurance from the state. This move will allow Colorado to continue funding senior Homestead Tax reduction and extend portable Homestead Property Tax reduction beyond its current expiration following tax year 2026. Without this disaffiliation, it would be challenging to maintain the Homestead exemption next fiscal year, as projected by the state.

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To address the growing concern of Medicaid spending, the budget proposes to reduce its growth rate while ensuring that all eligible Coloradans continue to have access to necessary services. This will result in a 5.6% increase in General Fund expenditures, which is still significantly lower than the rate of growth in Medicaid spending over the last decade.

The budget also includes $4.2 million to combat the outbreak of Mountain Pine Beetles across densely populated Front Range counties and other areas in Colorado. This includes funding for early mitigation work, support for the Colorado State Forest Service, and research on biological pest control methods.

Governor Polis's budget proposal aims to balance fiscal responsibility with investments in crucial areas such as education, public safety, and healthcare. The Joint Budget Committee will now review and make decisions on these requests in the coming months.

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