Colorado Senate Approves $28.9 Billion State Budget

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado state Senate has approved a $28.9 billion state budget package over the objections of fiscal conservatives and some Democrats.

The two-day budget debate transpired much like last week's vote in the House of Representatives, with lawmakers approving millions of dollars in new spending on a myriad of pet projects, boosting funding to rural broadband, affordable housing and school security.

The 26-8 vote on Thursday sends the annual spending plan to conference committee, which will have to hammer out the differences between the House and Senate versions before it can become law.

A bipartisan majority also restored $750,000 in funding for film industry incentives, a governor's office economic development program that fiscal conservatives and some Democrats for years have tried to abolish.