Pueblo lobbyists summarize 2025 Colorado session impacts, urge local priorities for next year

On May 12, 2025, lobbyists from Capital Success Group presented a legislative wrap-up to Pueblo City Council, outlining bills passed in the 2025 Colorado legislative session that they said will materially affect Pueblo City finances and services.

Gil Romero, principal at Capital Success Group, told the council that the session produced 657 introduced bills and 585 passed measures, and highlighted one late-session measure, “Senate Bill 290,” which he said creates a provider stabilization fund intended to help clinics left with negative margins after recent Medicaid coverage losses. “The bill creates a provider stabilization fund that will receive a minimum of a hundred million dollars in investment,” Romero said, adding that the bill was funded with interest from the state’s unclaimed property fund.

The lobbyists warned, however, that the source of the funding raised concern: Romero said the state’s unclaimed property pool contains roughly $1.5 billion and that the legislature is using interest from that account to back the stabilization fund. He also noted a $1.2 billion state budget shortfall for the year and a one-time sweep of cash accounts of about $400 million that may leave fewer buffers for next year’s budget.

Ryan Romero, who led the municipal court bill briefing, flagged two measures he said were particularly consequential to Pueblo. He described House Bill 25‑1147 (identified in the presentation as “HB 11 47”) as an attempt to standardize municipal sentencing and court practices with state law, including capping jail sentences for municipal offenses to match comparable state offenses and clarifying defendants' right to counsel. “That was probably our highest priority bill of the session. We … put a lot of resources into lobbying against this, and it unfortunately did pass,” Ryan Romero said. He added that the governor has until June 6 to sign or veto that bill.

Ryan Romero said Senate Bill 62, restricting criminal charges solely for failure to appear in municipal court, was signed and will take effect April 17, 2025; judges, he said, may still issue bench warrants and consider missed appearances at bond hearings.

Alec Romero highlighted bills tied to Pueblo priorities in public safety and child care. He described “Senate Bill 25310,” which implements Proposition 1‑30, as creating a peace officer support fund with a $15 million starting allocation and potential to rise to $35 million annually for hiring, training and retention. He also noted a bill he said requires child-care providers to refund application and deposit fees if a child is not enrolled within six months and mandates clearer fee disclosures.

Council members asked clarifying questions about funding mechanics. Councilor Martinez asked how the Proposition 1‑30 revenue is generated; Alec Romero replied that the legislature plans to contribute $500 million to PERA and use interest to reach the $35 million ceiling, with a guaranteed $15 million in general fund dollars each year if investment returns fall short.

Council- and public-facing consequences were highlighted: Gil Romero said a state fund used for First Appearance Defense Counsel was wiped out in the budget, a change he said will likely force the city to find an alternate funding source for indigent defense in municipal court. He also said the Legislature permanently reduced the state retail marijuana sales tax share back to local governments from 10% to 3.5% as part of the response to the budget shortfall.

Councilors asked the lobbyists to help advance proactive bills for Pueblo over the summer rather than only mounting defensive efforts at the Capitol. “If you think of anything, whether it's a health issue, whether it's something having to do with public safety, anything that you think would improve this community … we want to start working on that,” Gil Romero said. Several councilors expressed interest in pursuing targeted local priorities—especially around energy transition funds for communities affected by Comanche 3’s retirement and on municipal authority over public safety policy.

The lobbyists asked council members to surface ideas this summer so they can identify sponsors and build coalitions. The presentation concluded with the lobbyists reiterating a request that council consider drafting local legislative priorities the firm can carry to the Statehouse.

The council did not take formal action during the presentation; the lobbyists said they would keep council informed about veto or signature decisions and the June revenue forecast, which they said will influence the 2026 budget outlook.