Gov. Bill Owens revved up proposed spending on road projects Tuesday by unveiling a state budget that sharply boosts transportation funding for this year.
Of the additional $440 million the state expects to collect this fiscal year because of the passage of Referendum C, Owens wants to spend roughly two- thirds – $296 million – on roads and bridges.
In 2006-07, the governor would use part of the extra $505 million to increase stipends for college students, raise per- pupil spending for public schools and increase health care coverage for the poor.
Owens’ proposed budget for next fiscal year would also restore the property-tax exemption for senior citizens – a tax break expected to cost $65.8 million.
On Nov. 1, Colorado voters lifted revenue caps imposed by the state constitution’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, giving state leaders permission to keep tax revenues above TABOR’s inflation- plus-population-growth limit.
The governor’s proposed budget is as notable for what it doesn’t do. Owens is not proposing new programs with the extra money.
“With the passage of Referendum C, we have been able to avoid painful cuts to next year’s budget,” Owens said in a prepared statement. “However, funds are not plentiful.”
Owens is traveling in Chile and Argentina on a trade mission and was unavailable for comment. He will formally present his budget to lawmakers later this month.
The governor’s budget proposal was delivered Tuesday to the Democratic- controlled legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, which will begin department-by-department hearings.
Top Democrats said they haven’t had time to review the governor’s budget in detail.
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said he wants more information about the transportation funding program in Owens’ budget, but he said officials are starting in a better place on this year’s budget than in the past.
Prior to voter approval of Referendum C, officials were estimating that the state would cut $365 million in spending from programs. In addition to talk of capping state prison populations, the hit list included suicide-prevention and poison-control hotlines and programs that feed the elderly, bury the poor, provide prosthetics for the disabled, protect victims of domestic violence and ensure clean air.
None of those programs would be cut under Owens’ plan.
“Our budget team and staff will be poring over the numbers,” Romanoff said. “We want to get on the same page as the governor. At least, we’re starting with the same playbook, and that’s a big step forward from previous years.”
In the 2005-06 fiscal year, which ends June 30, Referendum C provides enough funding to boost road spending, restore the state’s mandatory reserve fund and pay back some money that was raided from other funds in previous years to pay the bills, according to Owens.
The 2005-06 general fund budget is $6.3 billion and total state spending, including federal funds, is $15.2 billion. The general fund in 2006-07 is projected at $6.5 billion, a 4.1 percent increase. Total spending would be up 4.3 percent to $15.9 billion.
Next year, under the governor’s proposal, a significant portion of the money would be dedicated to the fastest-growing portions of the budget: Medicaid and public schools.
In the 2006-07 fiscal year, which begins July 1, the state is expected to collect an extra $505 million because of Referendum C. Of that, Owens says $187.7 million is needed to cover the costs of Medicaid and public schools.
Those programs are consuming an ever-larger portion of the state’s budget. School spending automatically increases due to the state constitution’s Amendment 23.
Medicaid increases because of a rising number of uninsured people seeking government-funded medical services. Medical costs have been rising faster than inflation.
Spending for prisons is expected to jump $49.4 million, 9.3 percent, next fiscal year.
“Seventy-five percent of this budget is caseload in those three areas,” said Henry Sobanet, Owens’ budget director.
Even as those programs eat a growing portion of the budget, Referendum C allows the state to increase funding to state universities and public schools.
In 2006-07, the governor would increase the College Opportunity Fund stipend to $2,580 from $2,400. That stipend pays a portion of the in-state tuition for students. The governor also recommended that tuition increases be capped at 2.5 percent.
For public schools, the governor’s budget offers a $166-per-pupil increase in funding. Amendment 23 would require a $126.1 million increase in school funding. The governor requested a $127.5 million hike.
Sobanet said the state remains under a tight spending control: General-fund spending can increase only 6 percent per year. TABOR limits revenues, which in recent years have not even reached the general fund’s spending limits, squeezing funding for state colleges and universities and human-services programs.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
Where some of the money goes
The governor’s budget proposal would expand existing programs, lower fees, replace outdated buildings, replace vehicles and improve state facilities. Some examples of programs and areas that would be funded:
