Joint Budget Committee outlines 2025 "long bill" framework, warns of structural deficit and one-time fixes

The Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday reviewed the draft 2025 long bill and said the package preserves K‑12 education, Medicaid and higher education for the coming fiscal year while relying heavily on one‑time transfers and program reductions to close a large budget gap.

Senator Bridges, a Joint Budget Committee member, said the committee began the session with a $2,000,000,000 starting figure and delivered a package that “maintains our commitment to K‑12, maintains our commitment to Medicaid, and maintains our commitment to higher ed.” He added, “we are in a structural deficit” and warned that future years will require deeper cuts.

Why it matters: lawmakers said Medicaid now consumes roughly one‑third of the state’s budget, a share larger than K‑12 for the first time in Colorado’s history, and that health‑care and wage growth outpace the TABOR‑limited revenue growth that constrains state spending. Committee members framed this as the primary driver forcing one‑time transfers and department reductions in the long bill.

Major budget choices and context - Structural picture: The JBC reported the overall budget grew about 3.6% year over year but said the state faces a structural deficit because revenue is constrained by TABOR (the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) while health care, salaries and construction costs rise faster than allowed growth.

- One‑time moves vs ongoing change: Committee members emphasized that several decisions in the draft are one‑time transfers or technical changes intended to balance the 2024‑25 budget year and are not sustainable long term.

- TABOR cap changes: The narrative notes changes reflected on the long bill pages to how the TABOR cap is applied; the committee described some of those as producing ongoing savings for the state treasury.

Selected department highlights reported to the caucus - Department of Corrections: The JBC reduced the prison caseload appropriation by $2.3 million general fund and reported a net reduction in DOC funding of about $13.3 million general fund for the year. The draft includes a temporary opening of “C Tower” with statutory guardrails limiting duration and use; the committee said the opening is intended as a last resort. Senators pressed DOC reporting requirements; the long bill requires monthly reports of inmate population, bed capacity and vacancy rates by facility and security level.

- Health care/Medicaid (HCPF): The draft keeps Medicaid services in place and includes a 1.6% provider‑rate increase for Medicaid providers. Committee members said cuts were made elsewhere and that many proposed cuts the governor’s office suggested were rejected. The JBC did not increase general‑fund support for the Primary Care Fund compared with last year; members said the fund remains funded but not increased, and that lack of an increase could affect federally matched dollars that many providers rely on.

- Early childhood and K‑12: The committee included an increase for CCAP (child care assistance) and additional funding for early intervention and centrally appropriated items; the committee moved some universal preschool funding this year from general fund into the preschool cash fund. The long bill preserves Healthy School Meals for All but contains language to scale or limit the program if expected Prop FF revenue does not materialize.

- Human services and behavioral health: The draft funds a new 16‑bed unit at the state mental health hospital (Fort Logan) and transitional living homes intended to reduce the number of people awaiting competency restoration beds. JBC members said the competency wait list has fallen from prior highs (committee discussion cited peak values earlier in the year and a current wait list in the low‑300s) but that wait times and federal fines for delays remain an ongoing concern.

- Transportation and grants: The long bill proposes transferring roughly $71.4 million from the Multimodal Options Fund (MMOF) — dollars awarded but not contracted for pedestrian and bike projects — into the general fund to help balance the package. Committee members described the MMOF transfer as the single largest cash‑fund transfer in the draft.

- Unclaimed Property Trust Fund and other cash funds: Committee discussion noted the distinction between principal and interest on the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund and legal limits on how unclaimed property may be used; members raised constitutional and TABOR considerations before any reclassification or transfer of those dollars.

Other program decisions and technical items - Personnel and state employee pay: The package reflects a 1.5% salary‑base reduction (a budget‑balancing measure tied to negotiated increases) combined with targeted pay increases negotiated through Colorado WINS; committee members said vacancy savings and benefit‑share changes were part of that agreement.

- Forestry, public health and judicial items: The JBC moved the Colorado State Forest Service into the Department of Natural Resources, preserved Hazardous Substance Response Fund spending for Superfund cleanup, and continued funding for access to defense counsel and other judicial access items. The draft includes a small appropriation to stand up a behavioral‑health data hub intended to track individuals' movement across systems and inform policy.

What the JBC did not finalize The caucus repeatedly stressed that this version of the long bill relies on one‑time adjustments; committee members said the state will need further cuts or revenue changes in future years. Several members urged more conversation about program prioritization — for example, the Primary Care Fund and community health worker investments were discussed as evidence‑based items that could yield returns but were not increased in this draft.

Next steps and outlook Committee members said supplemental requests and follow‑ups will likely arrive as agencies provide additional data; they also signaled that separate bills tied to the long bill narrative (technical fixes, interest transfers between cash funds, enterprise conversions) will follow. Lawmakers also stressed that federal actions affecting Medicaid could force additional changes, and members cautioned that the package is intended to hold services steady only for the coming fiscal year rather than resolve structural imbalance.

Ending The caucus concluded after extended departmental presentations and a request for amendments by the committee’s deadline. Members praised JBC and legislative staff for time‑sensitive work assembling the draft and said they would continue negotiations as committee and floor processes proceed.