(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Governor Jared Polis has called a special legislative session on Aug. 21 to address a $700 million budget shortfall.
The special session, announced on Wednesday, Aug. 6, marks the third consecutive year that Colorado lawmakers will reconvene in the summer to tackle budget issues. Governor Polis blames the shortfall on changes to the federal tax code introduced by the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ which he claims has significantly reduced corporate tax revenue in the state.
Republican state lawmaker Ty Winter criticized the governor, stating, “I think we have a priority problem, and I think we spend a lot of money on a lot of different programs and then it puts us in arrears as the state.”
Governor Polis has announced a hiring freeze in an effort to mitigate the budget crisis, which he estimates could save between $3 to $7 million. However, essential positions such as firefighters and prison guards will not be affected by the freeze.
“There’s a lot of money going to things that I think Coloradans don’t even realize that are happening,” said Winter.
The governor highlighted that 70% of the tax benefits went to corporations, which he argues is a major cause of the budget shortfall. Republicans, however, argue that the Democratic majority in the legislature is responsible for the financial situation, not federal legislation. They suggest re-examining state spending priorities as a solution.
“They put new desks in the state capitol. They’re refurbishing the governor’s office. I don’t know. I think that speaks for itself,” said Winter.
The special session itself is expected to cost taxpayers nearly a million dollars, adding to the urgency of finding a resolution to the budget issues.
As Colorado lawmakers prepare to address the budget shortfall, the debate continues over the causes and solutions, with both parties expressing readiness to work towards balancing the state’s finances.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by FOX21. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by FOX21 staff before being published.
About The Author
