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What the $30.5 billion Colorado state budget means for you

John Frank, The Colorado Sun
The spending bills for fiscal year 2020 includes pay hikes for state employees, more money for education and dozens of other programs favored by Democrats.
Vail Daily file photo

The $30.5 billion state-budget package introduced Monday offers a little something for most everyone in Colorado.

The state would pay for full-day kindergarten, relieving local school districts and parents of the cost. The price tag for tuition would remain flat, except at one university. All state employees would receive at least a 3 percent raise, and some much more. The dome at the Capitol even would get new paint.

The spending bills for fiscal year 2020, which starts July 1, represent a 4 percent increase from the current plan with more than two-thirds directed to three areas: health care, K-12 education, and colleges and universities.



“It’s an unprecedented investment in education, that’s for sure,” said Joint Budget Committee Chairman Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City. “There’s some incredible stuff in this budget.”

The Democratic-controlled committee spent an additional $821 million in discretionary dollars, a 7 percent increase from the prior year, but much of it went toward covering the cost of existing programs.



Read more via The Colorado Sun.

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