State lawmakers expected to face massive budget shortfall again next year

By: Sara Wilson

Outlets: Colorado Newsline

Published: September 18, 2026

Words: 641

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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The Colorado Legislature will face a third straight year of intense budget woes when it convenes in January. State economists told lawmakers on Friday that there could be a nearly $1.6 billion budget deficit.

“Medicaid alone is causing the vast majority of the issue,” Mark Ferrandino, the head of the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting, told the Joint Budget Committee during a routine economic forecast.

It comes one day after Ferrandino and others …

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