First batch of special session bills heads to Gov. Jared Polis

The first round of bills from the Colorado legislature’s latest special session is heading to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk after receiving final approval from lawmakers Sunday. But work on several key bills remains.

Lawmakers ended Day 4 of the special session having signed off on four bills: to ask voters to fund food assistance, to allow state Medicaid dollars to go to Planned Parenthood, to deem more countries tax shelters, and to require the governor to notify lawmakers about large, unexpected spending cuts mid-budget year. A fifth bill, to take general fund money from wolf reintroduction, was amended by the House and needs to go back to the Senate for reapproval.

The other priority bills for the Democratic majority continued to move along, though they hadn’t yet crossed the finish line. Lawmakers are still debating nearly all of the bills aimed specifically at eating into the $783 million deficit facing the state following the passage of the federal tax and spending bill.

Those bills include proposals to raise money by ending tax incentives for large insurance companies, selling tax credits for future tax years at a discount, permanently ending a tax write-off for high-income people and businesses, and ending a credit that goes to retailers for collecting sales tax.

“Every dollar we give away through an outdated vendor discount is a dollar we take away from kids in classrooms, from seniors who need health care, from working families who depend on Medicaid and SNAP,” said Sen. Cathy Kipp, a Fort Collins Democrat, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Republicans argued at length against most of the bills. They argued the state should cut spending, not seek more tax money, to respond to the federal tax bill.

“We are not fixing the budget with any of these bills,” Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican, said. “In fact, all we’re doing is making it harder for small businesses to survive.”

Meanwhile, the fight around how to change Colorado’s first-in-the-nation artificial intelligence regulations dragged on.

Senate Bill 4, which would require more disclosure from AI companies and tighter rules to prevent discrimination, progressed to a debate among the full Senate after narrowly passing a key committee vote 4-3 Sunday afternoon.