
Colorado Senate approves four bills on second day of special session
The Colorado Senate gave final approval to four bills Friday morning, sending them to the state House of Representatives, as lawmakers continue a special legislative session convened to address a billion-dollar state budget gap triggered by changes to the federal tax code.
Senate Bill 25B-1 passed the Senate in a 19-16 vote, the narrowest margin of the four bills. The bill would establish a process for the governor to notify and consult with the Joint Budget Committee on mid-year spending cuts needed to overcome a revenue shortfall, as well as allow the governor to suspend and cut state funding if the reserve needs to be tapped by up to 3 percent of the General Fund budget, or if that reserve is projected to dip below $1 billion.
The bill was sponsored by Senate President James Coleman, a Denver Democrat, and Senator Judy Amabile, a Boulder Democrat, who introduced an amendment prior to the vote. The amendment changed the reserve threshold in the bill from the originally proposed 2 percent, to the current version of 3 percent.

The sponsors pushed for the bill as a way for the JBC and the governor to partner on mid-year spending cuts during revenue shortfalls, like the cuts Governor Jared Polis is poised to make after the special session.
All Senate Republicans, as well as four Democratic senators, voted against the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a Denver Democrat, was one of the no votes, and said he had “a lot of concerns with this bill.”
“The unintended consequences, that I feel that we’re seceding a lot of power to the governor, accountability and responsibility,” he said.
Senate Bill 25B-2, which would allow the state to pay for Medicaid services from reproductive health care organizations, including Planned Parenthood, that the federal government has withheld Medicaid money from, made it through the Senate in a 23-12 party-line vote, with Democrats in favor.
Democrats also passed Senate Bill 25B-3 on another party-line vote. The bill would change a referred ballot measure in November to ask voters if the state can use extra money collected for universal school meals to also cover costs related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The bill was proposed after President Donald Trump signed the federal Republican tax break and spending cut law in July, which shifted some of the cost burden of SNAP onto states.
“While our congressional delegation has failed, where they’ve decided to let families and vulnerable people go hungry, Coloradans, in their impeccable wisdom, are stepping up,” said Democratic Senator Katie Wallace, one of the bill’s sponsors.
Senate Bill 25B-5 received bipartisan support in the Senate with a vote of 32-3. The bill would reallocate about $260,000 from the wolf reintroduction program to a state health insurance fund. It was amended in committeeThursday to still allow the capture and release of wolves this winter.
Democratic Senators Lisa Cutter, Tom Sullivan and Katie Wallace were the three no votes. Sullivan cited concerns over the process by which the bill was amended as to why he voted against it.