Colorado Governor Signs $47 Billion Budget in Which ‘Nobody Won’

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs state budget, with Medicaid taking brunt of cuts to close $1 billion gap

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday, May 8, signed into law a $46.8 billion state budget that cuts healthcare spending but preserves funding for K-12 education.  The budget applies to the 2026-27 fiscal year, which begins on July 1, and caps months of work by lawmakers, who wrestled with how to close a roughly $1 billion gap that ultimately forced reductions to Medicaid funding and other programs.  “This year was incredibly difficult and challen…

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs state budget, with Medicaid taking brunt of cuts to close $1.5 billion gap

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday, May 8, signed into law a $46.8 billion state budget that cuts healthcare spending but preserves funding for K-12 education.  The budget applies to the 2026-27 fiscal year, which begins on July 1, and caps months of work by lawmakers, who wrestled with how to close a roughly $1.5 billion gap that ultimately forced reductions to Medicaid funding and other programs.  “This year was incredibly difficult and chall…

Gov. Jared Polis signs $46.8 billion state budget

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks in his office at the Capitol in Denver before signing the 2026 budget bill. (Photo by Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline)Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the state’s approximately $46.8 billion budget on Friday afternoon, following months of painful cuts to programs and key services across the government to make up a massive budget shortfall. With his tenure set to end after two terms in January, it will be the last b…

Colorado governor signs $47 billion budget in which ‘nobody won’

Legislators resorted to cuts, transfers and other mechanisms to balance the 2026-27 budget amid a deficit of more than $1 billion.