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Committee declines to pursue adult dental fund repeal this year
Summary
The committee discussed previously deferred repeal of the adult dental fund but decided not to run the repeal this year after staff outlined TABOR/refund and reserve implications tied to $74 million in unclaimed property; legal staff said a related court order addresses standing and not merits.
The Joint Budget Committee reviewed whether to repeal the adult dental fund but decided not to move the repeal forward this year.
Mister Kurtz advised the committee that uncertainty about next fiscal-year revenues makes repeal unlikely. Craig Harper, JBC staff, explained the accounting mechanics: repealing the adult dental provision and spending unclaimed-property receipts differently would change how an estimated $74,000,000 is treated for TABOR refund calculations and would free up general fund in the near term but would also increase the state’s reserve requirement by 15% of that $74 million. Harper said the net effect would be a reclassification that reduces TABOR refunds but raises required reserves.
Pierce Lively, Office of Legislative Legal Services, told the committee a recent court order was primarily about standing and not a merits decision, and that if the case proceeded on the merits and plaintiffs prevailed it could affect the balance of the unclaimed property trust fund. Given competing fiscal risks and the need for further clarity, the committee chose not to run the adult dental repeal this year and to keep it "warm" for reconsideration in a future session.
Outcome: No motion to introduce the repeal was advanced; staff will monitor related litigation and revenue forecasts before returning the matter to the committee.
