 Happy Halloween! My kids are 7 and 5 respectively, and they had a great time trick-or-treating last night. Dylan went as a "Clone Trooper" and Madison dressed as "Dorothy" from the Wizard of Oz. I chaperoned them as they walked door-to-door ... Lots of fun! People sometimes ask me where I get my news and other information to stay on top of current events in the political world. It may surprise you that I get most of my news from the same sources you do: Denver Post, Associated Press, Longmont Times-Call, etc. I also like to follow the postings on Coloradopols.com and Coloradosenate.org. As I've become more tech-savvy on new-media sources like Twitter and Facebook, I've actually started forwarding links to what I think are insightful articles or opinions about politics. I generally post once or twice a day. If you're interested, I'd invite you to "follow" me on Twitter by clicking here, or "friend" me on Facebook by clicking here. Speaking of Halloween and frightful things ... let's talk a bit about the state's budget. As most of you know, Colorado's legislature is required by Constitution to balance the budget each year. This differentiates our state government from the feds. We're not allowed to "deficit spend". Instead, we set a budget during the legislative session based on economic forecasts made by the Colorado Legislative Council economists. They update their forecasts each quarter and we make adjustments to the budget to ensure our revenues and expenditures stay balanced throughout the year. During the 2009 session, the state had a shortfall of $1.454 billion due to declining tax revenues. We balanced the budget before we adjourned in early May, but our revenues have continued to decline throughout the year. The quarterly June forecast indicated an additional shortfall of $318 million, and September was $271.4 million under that, necessitating an additional $589.4 million of cuts. Since the legislature is not currently in session, the Governor has made these cuts by executive order. Many of them will need to be confirmed by the legislature when we return in January 2010. This is a difficult time, but we'll persevere. We understand that the state's declining revenues are directly related to the down economy, and the conversations we're having at the Capitol are the same as those taking place around kitchen tables all over Colorado. We're all making tough decisions and we'll do the best we can to focus our efforts on priorities such as economic development, K-12 and Higher education, and safety net services as we move forward. The good news is that economic indicators suggest the economy is coming back. Unemployment rates in Colorado are down to 7% - almost three points below the national average. And, our economy is gradually expanding as businesses such as SMA Solar Technology AG, Cabela's, and ConocoPhillips make significant investments here. While these are obviously positive developments, we're not out of the woods yet. State revenues generally lag economic indicators by about 12 months and next year's projections are still grim. Based on recent estimates, we'll need to cut an additional $1.3 billion out of Colorado's budget during the next legislative session. This will be very challenging, especially when you realize that 97% of Colorado's budget is devoted to just five areas of service: (1) 43.3% to K-12 Education - protected by Amendment 23; (2) 21.2% to Health Care Policy and Financing - primarily driven by Medicaid caseload which is increasing because of the declining economy; (3) 9.0% to Human Services - services to the state's most vulnerable and highest risk populations such as those with developmental disabilities or mental illness, juvenile delinquents, and children who are the victims of abuse and neglect; (4) 14.7% to Corrections, Public Safety and Judicial - provides public safety for our state and communities; and (5) 8.8% to Higher Education - essential to economic growth and development. It's with this context and background that I ask my next poll question: Where should we cut? In past newsletters I've sent links to CSU's Backseat Budgeter and I've asked, "What kind of Colorado do you want?" This week it's time to take on our fiscal realities. If you were in my shoes and had to guide the Colorado Senate to a soft landing in its budget discussion, while still cutting $1.3 billion, what would you cut? Keep in mind, raising taxes is NOT an option because of the TABOR amendment. Click here to take the poll and leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Brandon |
