State Treasurer Mark Hillman on Tuesday flashed the green light to boost transportation spending $215.3 million after budget experts predicted the state will collect more than enough money this year to pay its operating expenses.
The road-funding process kicks in when the state has more than enough money to expand its operating budget by 6 percent. Voters triggered that boost when they approved Referendum C on Nov. 1.
But the governor and the legislature’s economists disagree on how to calculate the road funding. The governor says it applies to the full year, calculating $215.3 million; while the legislature figures it for only seven months, or $126.8 million.
“It seems pretty clear to us, under the law, that the transfers take place for the full fiscal year,” Hillman said, noting he will send the extra revenue to roads as soon as practical.
Both forecasts estimate the state will have more than $113 million in extra money to spend on other programs this year. The governor has called for roads to also get $80 million of that money.
The governor’s budget director, Henry Sobanet, said boosting road funding this year paves the way for greater spending on other programs next year. The governor’s 2006 budget would restore 40 percent of state spending on higher education that has been cut since 2001.
Many lawmakers expect to divvy up the money on health-care programs, public schools and state colleges and universities.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
