ALAMOSA — Colorado’s top state legislators were ordered by Governor Polis to return to Denver on August 21 for a special session where, by the end of thirty days, they must cut the state’s budget by $750 million to $1.2 billion.

During regular session, state legislators had already cut the state’s budget by $1.2 billion.  But, at the end of May – three weeks after the state legislature had already adjourned - Congress in Washington passed H.R. 1, or the so called big, beautiful bill, which eliminated about $1.2 trillion in federal spending in order to pay for extending tax cuts passed in 2017.

The tax code in Colorado mirrors the federal tax code. Because of the $1.2 trillion cut from the federal budget, the amount of tax revenue Colorado will collect is reduced by somewhere between $750 million and $1.2 billion.

“The state of Colorado is in rolling conformity with the federal income tax,” explains Rep. Matt Martinez (D-62) in an interview with the Valley Courier last week.  “As soon as H.R. 1 was passed, we saw an immediate decrease in state funds. The impacts of H.R. 1 are impacting this fiscal year’s budget for Colorado.”

Before leaving the San Luis Valley for Denver, Martinez spoke with the Valley Courier about some of the legislation he had sponsored during the regular session that he was proud of, most of which were signed into law. He then discussed what impact passing H.R. 1 will have on the state of Colorado.

During regular session, Martinez co-sponsored bi-partisan legislation related to fencing in Costilla County, which he felt was especially successful in showing voters that a small group of citizens can be successful in joining together to bring about change approved by the entire legislature.

Martinez cited passage of two pieces of legislation related to health care that were especially beneficial in the valley, including HB25-1288 that addressed financial support for Federal Qualified Health Centers and SB25-71 that helped to assure smaller pharmacies can stay in business.

Martinez’s other legislation signed into law included HB 25-1186 that expanded work-based experience in higher education to include “digital participation” – i.e. students could get credit for work-based experience done online – and SB25-67 that creates paid fellowships for anyone who successfully attended law school in Colorado, no matter what year, to receive a paid fellowship to learn how to be a prosecutor.

One bill that would expand the Public Utilities Commission from three to five members and mandate two representatives come from rural areas got stuck in appropriations. Martinez said he feels rural representation is vital and plans to give that bill a second try in the upcoming session.

Going forward, Rep. Martinez is “looking at some higher education issues and giving more space for those institutions to grow if they want to grow.  That really comes from my first term in the legislature and my time spent working at Adams State.”

When asked about other issues, Martinez just smiled. “I’m trying to stay open and see what happens. We’ve seen a lot of change that’s happened just from May to now. I’m sure there are going to be more changes from now to December.”

Since taking office, the Trump administration has taken consequential steps such as eliminating tens of thousands federal jobs, making unprecedented cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits and first-ever actions from the president such as withholding funds that had previously been appropriated by Congress. Those steps have created an air of uncertainty at many levels, including state legislatures.

“It’s been really eye opening, learning what we can impact and what we can’t. But In this time of real uncertainty, it’s absolutely imperative that we have advocates for rural Colorado who bring up areas that otherwise may not have been noticed.”

Martinez expressed deep disappointment in Congressman Jeff Hurd. “The congressman came out with a long list of reasons why he didn’t support H.R.1. And then he voted for it. The bill passed by one vote.” Martinez, who repeatedly views legislation through the lens of how it will impact rural areas, stopped before saying anything further. “I want to be sure that rural Colorado doesn’t get left behind, and that we’re protecting our people.”

As an example, Martinez brought up federal cuts in firefighters, where significant vacancies still remain.

“Look at the fires happening around Rifle in the northwest part of the state. Those firefighters – professional and volunteers - are doing everything they can to fight those fires and doing the very best with the resources they’re given, but they need much more support from the federal government in what they’re doing, and it’s showing,” he said.

“Climate change is making fires worse. Five of the ten worst fires in state history have happened in the last five years, and there’s a massive difference between what the state can provide and what we need from the federal government. With where we are with the state budget, it’s very difficult to not know what support we can rely on from the federal government. These are people’s lives, their houses, their businesses. We’re doing what we can but we need assistance. And that’s just one area,” he adds.

Martinez expects some very difficult choices to be made during the special session, which he finds very frustrating.

These cuts at the state level are mirroring federal tax cuts where 60 percent of the savings go to the wealthiest people, he said.  “People are going to lose their Medicaid and SNAP benefits. The subsidies for people buying private insurance are going away. And individuals earning less than $30,500 will pay $70 less in taxes. That’s it. That’s all. The top 1% will pay $71,000 less.

“We already cut $1.2 billion and passing H.R.1 could possibly add another $1.2 billion. Combined that’s $2.4 billion in cuts, which is larger than what was cut during the Great Recession. The largest draw on the state budget is Medicaid funding and funding K-12 education. These next cuts will be down to the bone.”