Executive Committee approves aide hours, placeholders and department budgets; eliminates special-session funding

The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council approved several budget decisions affecting the legislative branch and departmental budgets as staff briefed members on options to address a structural budget shortfall.

Staff presentation and proposed transfer: Natalie Castle of Legislative Council staff presented tables summarizing the legislative department's fiscal year 2025'26 budget request and said the department proposes a $4,400,000 transfer from the legislative department cash fund. Castle said that transfer would reduce the net general-fund impact by approximately 5 percent (the transfer calculates the net impact after moving cash funds). The packet shows a 1.5 percent increase in total all-funds spending and a 1.1 percent increase in the general-fund budget request before proposed adjustments and placeholders.

Aide budget: On a motion that the committee fund 1,800 hours per district (consistent with the current year), the committee approved funding aides at 1,800 hours per district. The motion passed on a recorded vote reported in the transcript as "passes on a vote of 4 to 2." The committee then voted to direct the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House to include a placeholder for an aid-wage increase consistent with recommendations JBC staff made on January 24, 2025; that placeholder reflects a 3.11 percent increase from $24.57 to $25.54 per hour. The committee voted to include the placeholder with the understanding the Executive Committee will revisit the decision after the Joint Budget Committee acts on common compensation policies. That motion passed on a vote reported as 4 to 2.

Colorado Youth Advisory Council (COYAC): Members discussed the $50,000 placeholder that has funded COYAC in prior years. Staff and COYAC representative Chris Moss explained the program timing mismatch between the fiscal year (contract period) and the program's school-year activities: students finish policy work in August, after the fiscal year ends. Committee members said they wanted to allow the current students to finish their work even if the committee suspends the program for the next fiscal year. One member suggested setting a not-to-exceed amount (one example floated was $10,000) to finish the current cycle; staff said they would report exactly how much of the current appropriation remains before Friday so the committee can make a more informed decision.

Special sessions: The committee voted to eliminate funding for special sessions (the packet had been budgeting 20 special-session days). That motion passed unanimously.

Department budgets: The committee approved the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) and Legislative Council Staff (LCS) budget requests as presented by staff on a vote reported as 4 to 2. The Office of the State Auditor budget request was approved unanimously.

Other items: Staff provided three legal options for effecting the proposed $4.4 million transfer and said details and draft language for a transfer could be prepared for the committee to consider at the next meeting; Director Harper (JBC staff) said running the transfer with the long bill is a plausible mechanism and can be adjusted later to true up with changes made by the Joint Budget Committee.

Votes at a glance: - Fund aides at 1,800 hours per district: Motion passed (vote reported as 4 yes, 2 no; names not fully disambiguated in transcript). - Placeholder for 3.11% aide wage increase (from $24.57 to $25.54): Motion passed (vote reported as 4 yes, 2 no). - Eliminate funding for special sessions (20 days): Motion passed (unanimous). - Approve OLLS and LCS budget requests: Motion passed (vote reported as 4 yes, 2 no). - Approve Office of the State Auditor budget request: Motion passed (unanimous).

Why it matters: The committee's budget choices set the legislative branch's spending priorities for the introduced bill and affect how the legislature will operate if the state's fiscal condition requires further adjustments. Staff recommended a $4.4 million cash transfer as one way to lower the net general-fund impact, and committee votes show line-item decisions to preserve operations for aides while reserving the ability to revisit compensation once JBC common policies are final.

Next steps: Staff will provide remaining-appropriation figures for COYAC before Friday and prepare draft transfer language and additional options for the committee to consider when it reconvenes. The committee postponed a separate decision on committee-video options.