We have just 24 days until the end of session, and these things are moving fast at the Capitol. Gov. Polis signed my first bill, allowing occupational therapists to prescribe durable medical equipment like wheelchairs and walkers, into law, and three of my other bills (Journal, Mar. 9) have passed through the House and are onto the Senate with bipartisan support.
This past week, we voted on the ‘long bill,’ which lays out the entire Colorado state budget for the coming year. As many know, Colorado is facing a more than $1 billion budget deficit for the coming fiscal year, largely due to increased costs of essential services as the state’s population ages and health care costs rise. It’s been extremely challenging to balance the budget while maintaining funding for public education and Medicaid, but we have worked hard to preserve essential services and lower costs for everyday Coloradans.
In our effort to protect K-12 and Medicaid, the largest cuts are coming out of transportation. This year's budget removes $72M previously set aside to fund alternative transportation methods, like bike lanes, $38M from school bus electrification, and $21.8M from state projects and road maintenance. These are important programs, and I wish we could give them the funding they deserve, but Colorado’s budget caps mandate that we make trade-offs for a balanced budget.
The good news is that these cuts, among others, have allowed us to increase public education funding by $150 million. Our schools still don’t have all the resources they need to give our kids the education they deserve, but this is another step in that direction. We also funded the Healthy School Meals for All program through the end of this year. HSMA was created by ballot initiative in 2022, and this November voters will get to choose whether to continue funding for this important program into the future.
This year's budget also maintains support for early intervention services that help bridge developmental gaps for infants and toddlers who were born premature or with other special needs. This includes $4M to plug the unexpected gap in funding in 2024-25 to prevent planned service reductions, and another $16.5M to sustain the program in 2025-26.
For Medicaid, we were able to reject proposed reductions to provider rates and instead secure a moderate increase while protecting eligibility. We also protected funding for dental care for Coloradans on Medicaid and increased funding for local public assistance programs like the Supplemental Assistance and Nutrition Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families by $3.4 million.
The child care assistance program has been facing waitlists and frozen enrollment in many places due to funding restrictions. We’re investing $15M to address the backup and $10M to continue supporting this program, which is a vital resource for low-income families struggling to find affordable child care.
We voted against cuts to the Kidney Task Force, which does mitigation work to prevent the progression of kidney disease through early detection and affordable screening. The task force saves Colorado’s health and pocketbook, with early tests costing just $4.51, compared to the immense costs of treatment and dialysis of late stage kidney disease. These efforts are especially important for our rural and Native communities, who are impacted by kidney disease at far higher rates.
We also renewed funding for the statewide Digital Trunked Radio System, which is the communication system that EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement rely on in rural Colorado. DTRS is crucial for public safety and emergency response, and this funding will prevent the costs from being transferred to local districts by providing funding for the next decade.
Katie Stewart represents House District 59 in the Colorado State House, which encompasses Archuleta, La Plata and San Juan counties and most of Montezuma County. Reach and follow Katie at katie.stewart.house@coleg.gov and facebook.com/KatieforColorado.
