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Lobbyists tell Pueblo council large state budget cuts narrowed 2026 legislative gains, hit Medicaid and housing
Summary
Pueblo lobbyists briefed council that three rounds of state budget cuts over two years left little room for new spending, reshaped outcomes on Medicaid and behavioral health and produced mixed results for housing bills, some passed and others deferred to next year.
PUEBLO — Lobbyists who represented Pueblo at the 2026 Colorado legislative session told the City Council on Monday that repeated state budget reductions constrained lawmakers’ ability to pass new spending and altered several policy outcomes affecting the city.
Gil Romero, a lobbyist who said he represented the city, told council members that 627 bills were introduced this session and 449 passed, and that the legislature’s work was defined by a limited budget. "This session was really, one of limitation and transition," Romero said, adding that higher‑education institutions and Medicaid were especially affected.
Ryan Romero of Capital Success Group outlined specific items of local interest. He summarized a new law taking effect in 2028 that, he said, "will make it easier for Colorado public schools, colleges, universities, and other groups to bypass local zoning rules to build housing on their land." He also flagged measures that passed or moved forward, including a bill to let local governments use existing tax revenue for workforce housing and another expanding loan eligibility for first responders through the Colorado Housing and Financing Authority.
On Medicaid and behavioral health, the lobbyists said the state made repeated reductions. When Councilor Hernandez asked, "How much was cut in the three rounds?" Ryan Romero replied that the cuts began with about $1.2 billion in 2025, followed by roughly $800 million in a special session and another $800 million to $1 billion contemplated in the subsequent session — "all in all, around 2 point something billion over the last two years," he said.
Gil Romero described programmatic changes the legislature adopted to rein in Medicaid spending: enrollment caps for some programs, reductions in funding to certain behavioral‑health services and changes intended to streamline competency evaluations for people sent to state hospitals. He pointed councilors to SB149 (the "pathways" bill), which he said included additional community resources and some new beds but had to be scaled back because of limited funding.
The lobbyists also reviewed several bills that directly affected Pueblo: protections for mobile‑home owners against tax‑related loss, adjustments to the statewide affordable housing fund and a measure that allows qualifying public or nonprofit organizations to build residential units on their land. Some bills the city opposed — including proposals to restrict tax‑increment financing and to limit government access to historical location databases — were defeated or stalled.
Why it matters: City officials said they will carry these outcomes into public town halls this month and use the lobbying report in discussions with constituents and state legislators. The lobbyists left a written packet for councilors with more detailed bill tracking and noted several items could reappear in 2027.
