Colorado Senate Republicans Criticize State Budget Management Ahead of Special Session

In the wake of Governor Jared Polis’s announcement of a special legislative session to address Colorado’s $1 billion budget shortfall, members of the Colorado Senate Republican caucus held a press conference Wednesday to express their concerns about the state’s fiscal direction and what they characterize as a pattern of overspending.

Governor Polis announced the special session—scheduled to begin August 21—outside the Governor’s Mansion, emphasizing the need to respond to the current budget gap. Senate Republicans, however, said the shortfall stems from long-standing spending decisions made by the Democratic majority, which has held full control of the state legislature for the past seven years.

Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson criticized what he described as an unwillingness to accept responsibility for the shortfall.

“Once again the Colorado Democrats are dodging responsibility and scrambling to blame anyone but themselves for this budget shortfall,” Simpson said. He pointed to a 50% increase in the state budget since 2018, contrasted with a less than 5% increase in population during that same period.

Simpson also reiterated the Republican caucus’s goals heading into the special session. “Of course we will use this opportunity to continue our fight to deliver relief for Colorado families by cutting unnecessary spending wherever we can, and by protecting the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.”

Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer echoed Simpson’s remarks and criticized what she described as attempts to shift blame for the budget gap onto outside factors.

“This budget crisis wasn’t created in D.C., it was created here at home by Democrat leaders who refused to live within our means,” Kirkmeyer said. “Coloradans deserve better than a blame game. We need a real, honest plan to restore fiscal responsibility and protect the core services people rely on.”

Kirkmeyer further pointed to the use of federal COVID-19 relief funds and spending patterns during recent years, arguing that these decisions have contributed to a structural budget imbalance.

Assistant Minority Leader Lisa Frizell added that since Democrats assumed full control of the state government in 2018, the number of state jobs has increased significantly.

“Since taking complete control of this state in 2018, the Democrats have added an average of 1,000 new state jobs each year, costing our taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars,” Frizell said. “A hiring freeze is a step in the right direction, but the real shame is that our state government and budget have grown so irresponsibly and beyond recognition.”

She also emphasized concerns about long-term sustainability, noting that temporary federal pandemic relief had been used to expand programs that may now be difficult to maintain.

The special session is set to convene at 10 a.m. on August 21, where lawmakers are expected to debate potential solutions to the current budget shortfall. Senate Republicans say they will continue advocating for spending restraint and fiscal responsibility.