Author: Brian Eason
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Colorado legislation aims to bolster failing foster system
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save DENVER — Sweeping legislative reforms to Colorado’s troubled foster care program take effect in August with the goal of revamping a system where kids graduate from high school at lower rates than homeless children. Crafted…
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Colorado may owe taxpayer refunds a year after fiscal deal
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As state cuts back, student costs soar at colleges in Colorado
DENVER — In 2000, Colorado taxpayers footed 68 percent of the costs of a college degree, with students chipping in about one-third. Two decades and two recessions later, that ratio has nearly flipped as state funding has been cut and tuition has steadily risen to replace it. Even after a 9 percent boost to higher…
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With rising prison costs, Colorado lawmakers push for reforms
A decade ago, faced with runaway costs and a growing prison population, Colorado lawmakers pushed the state Department of Corrections to transition more offenders out of prison and into halfway homes. Instead, the opposite happened. The state now uses community-based corrections programs even less than it did. And while its inmate population declined, prison costs…
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Much Trump talk at Colorado’s whittling of governor hopefuls
BROOMFIELD — A former mayor delivered a rousing speech praising President Donald Trump and helped hand a stunning defeat to Colorado’s moderate attorney general in the race to enter the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary Saturday, while Democrats selected two candidates who pledged to push back against the White House. In the Denver suburb of Broomfield,…
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Why the newly passed federal tax cut will mean higher state taxes for some in Colorado
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The $1.5 trillion federal tax-cut bill awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature will cause a de facto state tax hike for some Coloradans, state budget forecasters said Wednesday, news that could be viewed as an unexpected Christmas gift for state budget writers — and a lump of coalfor those who will foot the bill. The seemingly contradictory result could generate…
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Gov. Hickenlooper says PERA members, retirees should pay to fix pension
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Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday unveiled a budget plan that calls on retirees and public employees to bear the brunt of looming changes to the state pension fund, arguing that taxpayers have already contributed enough to the retirement system in recent years. The $28.7 billion spending road map — a 3.6 percent increase over this…
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What’s at stake in Colorado’s $32 billion pension problem
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Seven years after state lawmakers approved sweeping austerity measures to put the state pension fund on a path to financial stability, the retirement system’s funding levels have deteriorated to the point that the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association is headed back to the state Capitol for another round of difficult reforms. The stakes are significant.…
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What’s the difference between a tax and a fee? Question is a the heart of taxpayer lawsuits
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Some of the most consequential fights over Colorado government finance in the coming years won’t happen at the state legislature or at the ballot box, but in a courtroom, where fiscal conservatives and business groups are contesting government fees of as little as 20 cents. In Aspen, a taxpayer advocacy group is fighting a 20-cent…
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Lawmakers sidestep TABOR by charging fees
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When Colorado voters enshrined the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights into the state constitution in 1992, it had a simple premise: If lawmakers want to raise taxes or issue debt, they should ask voters for permission. In practice, lawmakers rarely ask. But that hasn’t stopped them from charging Coloradans billions more for government services and borrowing…