Hickenlooper Presents Last State Budget Request
DENVER (AP) - Gov. John Hickenlooper has presented his last budget request as governor to lawmakers -- one he says helps prepare the state for an eventual recession.
Hickenlooper spoke on Friday before the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee. The bipartisan panel will use the proposal in fashioning a state budget for fiscal years 2019-2020 during next year's legislative session.
The governor's $33.4 billion request is nearly 5 percent above the current budget.
It includes $13.2 billion in discretionary spending and would increase state reserves from 7.25 percent to 8 percent of that amount to prepare for an economic downturn.
Hickenlooper calls the request "a responsible one in the sense of accommodating what we can't see."
The Democratic governor has served the maximum two terms and leaves office in January.
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