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Committee debates funding route for statewide radio system upgrade as federal rules and local funding complicate options
Summary
Committee lawmakers debated whether to fund a $15 million‑a‑year Digital Trunked Radio System upgrade from the general fund, the 9‑1‑1 services enterprise, or the Energy and Mineral Impact Fund, with staff warning of federal limits on permissible 9‑1‑1 fee uses.
The Joint Budget Committee spent an extended portion of its session weighing how to fund a multi‑year contract and equipment upgrade for Colorado’s Digital Trunked Radio System (DTRS). JBC staff presented a proposal to fund a multi‑year Motorola contract and ongoing equipment upgrades—totaling about $15 million per year for a ten‑year horizon—either by issuing a long‑term general‑fund obligation or by using other cash‑fund sources.
Staff noted a policy and legal risk: certain federal rules constrain permissible uses of 9‑1‑1 fee revenues, which the Department of Public Safety and the PUC had flagged as a potential problem if the committee attempted to rely on the 9‑1‑1 services enterprise to carry the ongoing cost. JBC staff said the safer,…
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