Committee recommends repurposing funds to reimagine Colorado’s benefits‑eligibility system despite concerns from some members

The Joint Technology Committee recommended a supplemental to repurpose previously approved IT capital and operating funds toward a reimagined, modular benefits‑eligibility system intended to replace or modernize Colorado’s CBMS.

Legislative staff said the supplemental would move roughly $36.1 million in existing appropriations: about $15.8 million from a previously funded IT capital project and approximately $15.5 million from operating lines, producing a net‑neutral fiscal impact if related IT capital actions are approved in February.

Ms. Mack, the agency project lead, described the planning sprint as the vehicle to determine what must be done now in the current system to meet immediate federal requirements (including HR 1 related guidance) and what should be designed into a new system. "There is no world in which we're gonna have a new system by December 2026 and those efforts need to happen in the current system to stay in compliance with HR 1," she said, noting the department recently received new federal guidance in December.

Several committee members urged the agencies to return after the planning sprint with clear scenarios and cost ranges. Representative Haskell asked that short‑term HR 1 costs be kept separate from new‑system budgets and requested an in‑person follow up. Vice Chair Tatone relayed county apprehension about a top‑down approach and asked for more county engagement; agency staff said they have adjusted the planning sprint and run user tests showing potential reductions in training time, processing time and error rates.

The motion to recommend the supplemental passed 4–2 (No: Bazely, Weinberg). Agency staff acknowledged some statutory changes will be needed if the districting proposal proceeds and said they will bring legislation and detail to the legislature as required.