Overview
- Colorado enters the 2026 session with an approximately $850 million general‑fund gap as leaders weigh cuts and protections for K‑12 funding.
- Polis highlighted affordability as his top priority and cited ongoing legal efforts to safeguard federal dollars after threats and withholdings reported at roughly $1 billion.
- Democratic leaders are preparing a ballot referral to raise the TABOR revenue cap by about $4.5 billion annually and require 2% yearly K‑12 increases, a move that would need a legislative supermajority.
- Lawmakers opened with a slate of consumer and cost‑of‑living bills, including measures on price gouging, online ‘surveillance pricing,’ teacher housing, utility protections and targeted tax relief proposals.
- Opening‑day actions included a House vote to replace the governor’s formal title from “His Excellency” to “the Honorable,” and legislators signaled work on competency‑law fixes after a 2024 case dismissal.