Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gina Gondeck and Marty Lenz on Colorado's morning News. Work
expected to continue through the weekends as the Colorado Legislature
is battling to balance the state budget amid a nearly
eight hundred million dollar hole.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Several bills were introduced on day one of the special
session yesterday, and the Senate will consider them on the
second reading today. And joining us now in the ka
Comma Spirit Health hotline. State Senator Jeff Bridges, chair of
the Joint Budget Committee and Democrat representing the twenty sixth district,
We appreciate you coming on with us this morning. I'm
just going to jump to it because I saw a
report yesterday on television. You were addressing or talking with
one of the media people and you said, yeah, we're
(00:33):
going to have the special session, but no actual spending
cuts are going to commence. Can you explain that please?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
You've got the process for First of all, thank you
so much for having me on, And just a quick correction.
We did second reading on Senate bills yesterday. We're going
to do third reading this morning. Should be a pretty
short day. The houses doing second reading, they're less functional
than the Senate, so they move a little slower, But
we in the Senate will not be considering those spending
this exact spending cuts because the way that we handle
(01:01):
the budget is the supplemental process that occurs starting in
November and then we finalize that in February with the
full legislature. That is where we will be making those cuts.
So the governor will propose his first round, he'll bring
that to the Joint Budget Committee, to the broader legislature.
We'll get feedback on that. Those cuts will start September first,
(01:23):
assuming everything goes well during the special session, and then
again the legislature will have the final say on those
in February. But it's unlikely the governor would do something
that the legislature would overturn.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
So Senator Bridges, we had Colorado Politics Maryan Goodlin on yesterday.
She talked about how there's generally three ways lawmakers are
working to fill that budget gap, ending the corporate tax breaks,
dipping into the state's reigning day savings, or cutting some spending.
When you look at those three, what are some of
the top priorities that are being considered.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So I think the reason that we're here in the
special session in this momentton like that next month or
some time later in the year. Number one, we're looking
to modify the ballot measure on healthy school meals to say,
can we use those dollars not just food for kids
in school, but really food for kids year round and
for other folks who are in need. And so the
(02:18):
federal tax the federal law HR won the one big
beautiful bill that we're dramatically reduced snap support, so that's
food stamps. So we're going to ask folks if we
can use some of those dollars for that. In order
to get that onto the ballot, that question has to
be changed by the end of next week, and so
we're on a real time punch for that. That's why
(02:39):
we're doing this now. The other reason we're having a
special session and not just waiting until January when the
legislature comes back, is that we have to make any closes,
any closure to those tax loopholes in this this year.
We can't wait until the start of next year to
make those changes, so we have to do that right now.
And then the last is that any cuts that are
(03:01):
made that to state spending, those cuts, the sooner we
make them, the less we have to cut. If we
wait until we're halfway through the year and we've spent
half the year, like we have a lot more money
than we do, in order to reach balance, we'd have
to cut twice as much. So we're getting together now
(03:21):
to make sure that the governor has the authority to
make those cuts that were aligned with the governor on
what those cuts would be, and to make sure that
we have the changes that we need to the tax
code in that ballot question.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
One of the options I saw as well from your colleague,
Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer was cutting what the Medicaid provider rates.
Is that a potential option as well?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I think what Senat Kirkmeyers are going to do is
to avoid cutting the Medicaid provider rates. She offered a
piece of legislation that would have eliminated tax credits for
low income folks and low income folks, particularly with kids
that the legislature had passed a couple of years ago.
Those tax credits automatically turn off next tax year, they
(04:04):
are still on this year. I think that her bill
failed in committee yesterday. Personally, I think that would be
the last place that I would go to close any
tax benefits for folks.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Senator Bridges, can you explain some of those bills that
will be on the third reading today? It looks like
you're one of the prime sponsors of Senate Bill twenty
five B two, that's the one that deals with planned
parenthood and withheld of the withhelding of some of the
medical funds. Can you explain a little bit more about
where you expect these to go from here and what
that would.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Mean you Bett, I expect that that bill will pass.
I have talked to my colleagues. I believe I have
the votes. That bill, in particular, is about ensuring that
people in Colorado have healthcare. None of the dollars associated
with the cuts at the federal level, none of the
dollars associated with this bill at the state level to
(04:57):
restore those cuts, will pay for abortions. This is entirely
about healthcare, primary care, family planning care. You know, there
are other providers in the state that healthcare providers that
perform abortions that were not impacted by HR one, and
so it is really clear. I think that those cuts
(05:19):
were meant to punish Planned Parenthood for their political action,
not for the medical care that they provide. And again
their medical care. Is that's covered in this bill, is
its family planning, it is your annual services. It is
really standard care that we want to make sure Colorados
(05:40):
have access to. And for tens of thousands of folks
in rural areas, Planned Parenthood is their only local providers.
So if we're talking about access to healthcare, their core
part of Colorado's healthcare landscape.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
A lot of people want to ascribe blame as to
why we're in this hole. I just want to get
your perspective on it, because some say it is the
big beautiful bill as part of the reason. People on
the opposite side of the aisle of you say it's
because of democratic reckless spending. What is the reality? Is
it possibly a little of both. Have we not been
good stewards with our money?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
If we were talking about the budget cuts we have
to do on an annual basis because of Caper, then
maybe there would be some room for argument there. I
think the responsible thing to do is to have a
fifteen percent reserve any day fund, which we've built up
over the last eight years. I think it's responsible to
make sure that Colorado's received as much healthcare as they
can get and it's responsible to make sure that kids
(06:36):
are funded. You know that we're funding education at the
level that gets the results that we need. So I
think there's a debate about spending in Colorado that we
can have during the regular session, but right now, this
legislative session, this special session is entirely a response to
HR one. And here's why. What that bill did is
(06:57):
it reduced what's called federal taxable income that's align on
your tax returns, and it occurs after all of those
deductions are included. So when the Feds increase a lot
of deductions for corporations and high network individuals, those deductions
are automatically part of the calculation that Colorado uses for
our flat tax, both for individuals and corporations. So in
(07:19):
federal taxable income goes down, our revenues go down. And
that impact to Colorado was about one point two billion dollars.
The reason the hole we're having to fill is less
than that is that part of that one point two
billion dollars was taver refunds. So when our revenue goes down,
we go below that table rationing limit and there are
no more table refunds. So the FED took away your
(07:41):
Taver refund. Very sorry everyone. Another piece of that is
the state education funds. Some of those dollars go to
the state d fund, and so what we see in
the general fund impact is about that seven hundred and
fifty million dollars. Again that this special session entirely because
of math. It is just the mass the results from
changes made at the federal level to yhr one.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
With a little time, we have left a republican state.
Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer said quote. This was also before the
special session commenced. She said, when we walk away from
the session, the Democrats will have increased taxes. The Democrats
will have done nothing to cut general fund spending. That's
the seven hundred million dollars were in the red, and
the Democrats will not have rebalanced the state budgets. So
what's your response to that.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
We're going to have a balanced budget. We are closing
tax loopholes, and we are doing it in partnership with
the governor's office. It's going to be the Joint Pleasure Committee,
which Barb sorry, Senator Kirkmeyer is a member of. She's
a friend of mine. We're on the Buzzer Committee together.
I like her a great deal, respect her a great deal.
Those comments in particular, though, I think, just already accurate
(08:49):
to how I think the special session is going to go.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
He is the chair of the Joint Budget Committee, a
Democratic state representative representing the twenty six district. Its Senator
Jeff Brey.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Just thank you, thank you.
Gina Gondeck and Marty Lenz on Colorado's morning News. Work
expected to continue through the weekends as the Colorado Legislature
is battling to balance the state budget amid a nearly
eight hundred million dollar hole.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Several bills were introduced on day one of the special
session yesterday, and the Senate will consider them on the
second reading today. And joining us now in the ka
Comma Spirit Health hotline. State Senator Jeff Bridges, chair of
the Joint Budget Committee and Democrat representing the twenty sixth district,
We appreciate you coming on with us this morning. I'm
just going to jump to it because I saw a
report yesterday on television. You were addressing or talking with
one of the media people and you said, yeah, we're
(00:33):
going to have the special session, but no actual spending
cuts are going to commence. Can you explain that please?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
You've got the process for First of all, thank you
so much for having me on, And just a quick correction.
We did second reading on Senate bills yesterday. We're going
to do third reading this morning. Should be a pretty
short day. The houses doing second reading, they're less functional
than the Senate, so they move a little slower, But
we in the Senate will not be considering those spending
this exact spending cuts because the way that we handle
(01:01):
the budget is the supplemental process that occurs starting in
November and then we finalize that in February with the
full legislature. That is where we will be making those cuts.
So the governor will propose his first round, he'll bring
that to the Joint Budget Committee, to the broader legislature.
We'll get feedback on that. Those cuts will start September first,
(01:23):
assuming everything goes well during the special session, and then
again the legislature will have the final say on those
in February. But it's unlikely the governor would do something
that the legislature would overturn.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
So Senator Bridges, we had Colorado Politics Maryan Goodlin on yesterday.
She talked about how there's generally three ways lawmakers are
working to fill that budget gap, ending the corporate tax breaks,
dipping into the state's reigning day savings, or cutting some spending.
When you look at those three, what are some of
the top priorities that are being considered.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So I think the reason that we're here in the
special session in this momentton like that next month or
some time later in the year. Number one, we're looking
to modify the ballot measure on healthy school meals to say,
can we use those dollars not just food for kids
in school, but really food for kids year round and
for other folks who are in need. And so the
(02:18):
federal tax the federal law HR won the one big
beautiful bill that we're dramatically reduced snap support, so that's
food stamps. So we're going to ask folks if we
can use some of those dollars for that. In order
to get that onto the ballot, that question has to
be changed by the end of next week, and so
we're on a real time punch for that. That's why
(02:39):
we're doing this now. The other reason we're having a
special session and not just waiting until January when the
legislature comes back, is that we have to make any closes,
any closure to those tax loopholes in this this year.
We can't wait until the start of next year to
make those changes, so we have to do that right now.
And then the last is that any cuts that are
(03:01):
made that to state spending, those cuts, the sooner we
make them, the less we have to cut. If we
wait until we're halfway through the year and we've spent
half the year, like we have a lot more money
than we do, in order to reach balance, we'd have
to cut twice as much. So we're getting together now
(03:21):
to make sure that the governor has the authority to
make those cuts that were aligned with the governor on
what those cuts would be, and to make sure that
we have the changes that we need to the tax
code in that ballot question.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
One of the options I saw as well from your colleague,
Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer was cutting what the Medicaid provider rates.
Is that a potential option as well?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I think what Senat Kirkmeyers are going to do is
to avoid cutting the Medicaid provider rates. She offered a
piece of legislation that would have eliminated tax credits for
low income folks and low income folks, particularly with kids
that the legislature had passed a couple of years ago.
Those tax credits automatically turn off next tax year, they
(04:04):
are still on this year. I think that her bill
failed in committee yesterday. Personally, I think that would be
the last place that I would go to close any
tax benefits for folks.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Senator Bridges, can you explain some of those bills that
will be on the third reading today? It looks like
you're one of the prime sponsors of Senate Bill twenty
five B two, that's the one that deals with planned
parenthood and withheld of the withhelding of some of the
medical funds. Can you explain a little bit more about
where you expect these to go from here and what
that would.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Mean you Bett, I expect that that bill will pass.
I have talked to my colleagues. I believe I have
the votes. That bill, in particular, is about ensuring that
people in Colorado have healthcare. None of the dollars associated
with the cuts at the federal level, none of the
dollars associated with this bill at the state level to
(04:57):
restore those cuts, will pay for abortions. This is entirely
about healthcare, primary care, family planning care. You know, there
are other providers in the state that healthcare providers that
perform abortions that were not impacted by HR one, and
so it is really clear. I think that those cuts
(05:19):
were meant to punish Planned Parenthood for their political action,
not for the medical care that they provide. And again
their medical care. Is that's covered in this bill, is
its family planning, it is your annual services. It is
really standard care that we want to make sure Colorados
(05:40):
have access to. And for tens of thousands of folks
in rural areas, Planned Parenthood is their only local providers.
So if we're talking about access to healthcare, their core
part of Colorado's healthcare landscape.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
A lot of people want to ascribe blame as to
why we're in this hole. I just want to get
your perspective on it, because some say it is the
big beautiful bill as part of the reason. People on
the opposite side of the aisle of you say it's
because of democratic reckless spending. What is the reality? Is
it possibly a little of both. Have we not been
good stewards with our money?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
If we were talking about the budget cuts we have
to do on an annual basis because of Caper, then
maybe there would be some room for argument there. I
think the responsible thing to do is to have a
fifteen percent reserve any day fund, which we've built up
over the last eight years. I think it's responsible to
make sure that Colorado's received as much healthcare as they
can get and it's responsible to make sure that kids
(06:36):
are funded. You know that we're funding education at the
level that gets the results that we need. So I
think there's a debate about spending in Colorado that we
can have during the regular session, but right now, this
legislative session, this special session is entirely a response to
HR one. And here's why. What that bill did is
(06:57):
it reduced what's called federal taxable income that's align on
your tax returns, and it occurs after all of those
deductions are included. So when the Feds increase a lot
of deductions for corporations and high network individuals, those deductions
are automatically part of the calculation that Colorado uses for
our flat tax, both for individuals and corporations. So in
(07:19):
federal taxable income goes down, our revenues go down. And
that impact to Colorado was about one point two billion dollars.
The reason the hole we're having to fill is less
than that is that part of that one point two
billion dollars was taver refunds. So when our revenue goes down,
we go below that table rationing limit and there are
no more table refunds. So the FED took away your
(07:41):
Taver refund. Very sorry everyone. Another piece of that is
the state education funds. Some of those dollars go to
the state d fund, and so what we see in
the general fund impact is about that seven hundred and
fifty million dollars. Again that this special session entirely because
of math. It is just the mass the results from
changes made at the federal level to yhr one.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
With a little time, we have left a republican state.
Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer said quote. This was also before the
special session commenced. She said, when we walk away from
the session, the Democrats will have increased taxes. The Democrats
will have done nothing to cut general fund spending. That's
the seven hundred million dollars were in the red, and
the Democrats will not have rebalanced the state budgets. So
what's your response to that.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
We're going to have a balanced budget. We are closing
tax loopholes, and we are doing it in partnership with
the governor's office. It's going to be the Joint Pleasure Committee,
which Barb sorry, Senator Kirkmeyer is a member of. She's
a friend of mine. We're on the Buzzer Committee together.
I like her a great deal, respect her a great deal.
Those comments in particular, though, I think, just already accurate
(08:49):
to how I think the special session is going to go.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
He is the chair of the Joint Budget Committee, a
Democratic state representative representing the twenty six district. Its Senator
Jeff Brey.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Just thank you, thank you.
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