Colorado’s special session kicked off with lawmakers speed‑running “solutions” to a self‑inflicted $800 million problem. In “Here’s what Colorado lawmakers advance on the first day of special session,” Marianne Goodland (Denver Gazette/Colorado Politics) reports that the very first hearing teed up Senate Bill 1, which adds a new requirement for the governor to draft and present a budget‑cut plan to the Joint Budget Committee before it takes effect. The goal is to push cuts by Sept. 1 so the pain is spread over 10 months instead of crammed into February.
Mark Ferrandino warned against raiding the $2.2 billion reserve, citing a 50 percent chance of a moderate recession and a statutory 15 percent reserve floor. The committee passed SB25B-001 on a 3‑2 party‑line vote. Then came Senate Bill 5, a fight over shifting $264,000 from wolf reintroduction to the Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise, with more than 50 witnesses lined up and a Polis veto threat hovering over the room.
The Bullet Point Brief
- SB 1 adds a new hoop for the governor. He must present a cut plan to the JBC first. The rush target is Sept. 1, so the reductions are not a mid‑winter cliff. My opinion: This places WAY TOO MUCH authority in the hands of Polis, a man most Coloradans have grown to distrust.
- Ferrandino to lawmakers: do not plug the hole with the reserve. There is a 50 percent recession risk and the law requires a 15 percent reserve. Translation. Stop kidding yourselves.
- Republicans say they were iced out of the SB 1 discussion. The bill cleared committee on a 3‑2 party‑line vote. Same playbook, different day.
- SB 5 would move $264,000 from wolves to health insurance subsidies. No new wolf imports while existing money goes to conflict mitigation and depredation claims.
- Premiums on the Western Slope are projected to jump 38 percent in 2026. Hence the health insurance pivot. Ranchers and stockgrowers showed up in force to demand a pause.
My Bottom Line
The operative word in Denver is control. SB 1 is another state‑level leash on executive action dressed up as “process.” SB 5 is budget theater that nibbles at wolves to feed a bureaucracy that cannot stop inventing new ways to regulate your life. Out here, I am elected to serve taxpayers directly. I do not need Denver freelancing more mandates while we are balancing the books locally. Let counties govern, keep the state in its lane, and stop shoveling compliance chores downhill. You want affordability and stability. Quit layering policy ornaments on a fiscal Christmas tree that is already tipping.
