Colorado legislature to consider a measure that could essentially end TABOR refunds in the near future
State lawmakers will gavel in the 2026 legislative session Wednesday and the budget will once again dominate debate.
The general fund is $850 million in the hole and it could get worse as the Trump Administration threatens to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to Colorado.
Despite the dire fiscal outlook, Democratic leadership made it clear they won't cave to pressure from the federal government.
"It is going to be a powerful session. We will be standing up to Washington," said Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie.
President of the Senate James Coleman says Democrats will focus on what is best for Coloradans regardless of backlash from President Trump.
"What we do in this building will not be defined off of the federal administration," Coleman said.
Over the last year, President Trump has withheld disaster relief funds for Colorado, vetoed funding for a major water pipeline in the southern part of the state, threatened to shutter the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, and froze millions of dollars in funding for needy families. A federal judge granted a temporary injunction on the funding freeze but the Department of Early Childhood told the Joint Budget Committee if it doesn't get $91 million by the end of the month, up to 27,000 low-income kids will lose child care.
Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer says the department's fiscal challenges began long before the funding freeze.
"They're just looking for a scapegoat because they're so poorly mismanaged," Kirkmeyer said.
She says the department has a fund balance of $76 million in its child care and preschool programs.
Democratic state Rep. Kyle Brown says the department's budget figures don't add up.
"Right now, I see a pretty dire situation for our families," he said. "We need to have certainty about what the numbers are. We need to know what the long term financial strategy and solution is."
A bailout from the state is unlikely. In addition to the $850 million shortfall in next year's budget, lawmakers need to plug a $300 million hole in the current budget.
Kirkmeyer says they closed a billion dollar gap last year largely by using one-time funds.
"It's (like) going in and clearing out your savings to pay your mortgage. Your mortgage is still going to be there next year but your savings won't be. That's exactly what we did," she said.
CBS Colorado has learned Democrats plan to refer a measure to the ballot this year that would raise the cap on the amount of revenue the state can keep under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR by $4.5 billion a year. The measure would also require a 2% increase in funding for k-12 education every year for the next 10 years.
Kirkmeyer says, since TABOR is constitutional, Democrats need a supermajority to refer the measure to the ballot, which would require Republican support.
Both parties say they are focused on cost of living issues again this year. There will be bills addressing home, auto and health insurance, affordable housing, and energy prices, as well as a number of criminal justice bills.