Contract lobbyist briefs Lake County commissioners on Colorado 2025 session, budget pressures

Elizabeth Rosen, contract lobbyist for Political Advocacy Incorporated, told the Lake County Board of County Commissioners during a work session that Colorado lawmakers introduced roughly 650 bills in the 2025 session and that about two‑thirds of those passed. "650 bills introduced. Roughly 2 thirds of those passed," Rosen said.

Rosen said the session was calmer than in recent years but that sharp budget constraints shaped outcomes. "The budgetary constraints meant that there was only $7,500,000 for new bills and new legislation to go through," Rosen said, and she warned those limits were the main reason about one‑third of introduced measures did not become law.

Why it matters: county officials and staff face policy and fiscal changes resulting from the session, Rosen said — particularly growing Medicaid costs, cuts to transportation grants, and new or changed statutory language that affect county operations. Rosen said the state set aside money to defend policies in court and made targeted K‑12 funding choices intended to avoid a restored budget stabilization factor.

Key takeaways Rosen summarized for the commissioners included: - Session scale and tone: Rosen said the session introduced about 650 bills (fewer than some recent years) and that leadership and chamber composition produced fewer late‑night or weekend sessions. - Budget limits and impact: Rosen said legislators faced a roughly $1,200,000,000 budget shortfall and that constrained available new funding. She said Medicaid was now the largest line item in the state budget and that lawmakers used a large set of supplemental or technical budget bills — far more than usual — to balance the books. - K‑12 and amendment 23: Rosen said the legislature allocated roughly $115,000,000 to K‑12 funding in order to avoid reinstating the so‑called budget stabilization factor tied to Amendment 23 and that leaders are working on a new K‑12 funding formula. - Medicaid and county administration: Rosen said counties won funding to support county administration connected to Medicaid, SNAP and CBMS work the counties have carried out; she identified legislation the county had supported that creates a regional jail approach for counties (referred to in the presentation as "house bill 10 50"). - Provider rates: Rosen said the session produced a 1.6% increase in some community provider and Medicaid rates but that this increase likely cannot be repeated without additional revenues. - Legal contingency: Rosen said state leaders earmarked just over $4,000,000 for the attorney general’s office to defend laws they expect may be challenged in court.

Bills and items Rosen highlighted by name in the presentation included (strings used as given in the briefing): house bill 11 52; house bill 11 10; house bill 10 50; house bill 1,300; senate bill 2 76; and senate bill 5 (the Labor Peace Act). Rosen also referenced Amendment 23 when summarizing K‑12 funding changes. The transcript supplied to staff records those bill labels exactly as she spoke them.

Commissioners and staff asked follow‑up questions about potential federal changes to Medicaid and SNAP matching requirements and about how the county should coordinate immediate advocacy. Rosen recommended rapid outreach to county legislators and engagement through county associations (for example, CCI and CCAT) and offered to help set up meetings with Joint Budget Committee members and others.

Rosen closed by noting the Joint Budget Committee will meet for the next revenue forecast in June and that state leaders are watching the fall for potential additional balancing actions or a special session. "Don't make any vacation plans in early October," she told the commissioners when describing conversations with state budget staff.

Ending: Commissioners did not take formal action on items discussed during the presentation; staff said they will follow Rosen's suggestion to coordinate outreach and report back to the board on any steps to protect county administrative funding and Medicaid‑related reimbursements.