Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears JBC breakdown of compensation proposal; no vote yet on member/per-diem changes
Summary
Joint Budget Committee staff outlined a governor-aligned request that includes a 3.1% across-the-board COLA, a 0.4% step-plan implementation, and health/benefits negotiations; the governor’s request does not include provider rate increases. Leadership asked whether per diem rises would outpace vendor/provider increases amid a tighter budget.
Majority Leader Rodriguez asked whether per diem increases under consideration would exceed increases provided to external vendors, such as Medicaid providers, saying, "Because we're looking at a tighter budget, I'm just curious if we're using cost of living increases...that we're giving to our vendors...Are we matching what we're giving them?" Director Castle asked for clarification and JBC staff provided a detailed response.
Craig Harper, JBC staff, said the governor’s request — which the JBC will present further on Feb. 4 — contains three main components for employee compensation: a 3.1% across-the-board cost-of-living adjustment, an additional 0.4% to implement the step plan for classified employees, and a significant discussion point over health, life and dental premium coverage. Harper said the governor’s request aligns with the Colorado WINS agreement for the request but that the General Assembly retains open decisions on implementation for legislative staff.
Harper told members the request does not include any increase for provider rates — for Medicaid or behavioral-health providers — so there is no apparent alignment between the per diem discussion for legislators and increases paid to external service providers.
Director Castle reiterated that personnel and staff personal services make up roughly 69% of the legislative department’s budget and walked through how agencies with different sizes and vacancy patterns experience base cuts differently; she said a 1.5% personal services base cut was put in by JBC for FY26 and that vacancy savings and reserves factor into how agencies absorb personnel cost changes.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; Castle reminded members they need to make a decision on personnel compensation no later than Feb. 17 and flagged that the JBC personnel presentation would occur on Feb. 4.
The committee will determine specifics of per diems and any legislative adjustments through the scheduled decision process rather than at this meeting.
