County lobbyist briefs Lake County commissioners on 2025 legislative landscape, budget pressure

Lake County commissioners heard a state-legislature update at their Jan. 30 work session, during which the county’s contract lobbyist, Elizabeth Rosen, and county staff outlined major bills, explained the long bill (the state budget process) and urged commissioners to choose priorities for lobbying this session.

Rosen told the board that county advocacy at the Capitol is now organized into tiers so staff and commissioners can decide how much time and political capital to devote to particular bills. Tier 1 bills would receive the county’s logo, testimony and in-person commissioner appearances; Tier 2 would get registration and targeted testimony; Tier 3 would be monitored or receive limited staff engagement.

The briefing stressed the scale of the state budget problem and the limits on county options. Rosen said the state faces roughly a $700 million to $1 billion shortfall heading into the long bill process, and that quarterly economic forecasts — the next due in March — will determine final budget numbers. She warned commissioners that TABOR-related obligations and a recent recalculation requiring another roughly $115 million in refunds put additional pressure on the budget.

“Everyone agrees that there is no money,” Rosen said, adding that the shortfall will…