DENVER – The Colorado House on Wednesday debated several amendments to the $25 billion state budget, revisiting issues such as birth control and education.
The budget must still receive a final vote by the House – expected Thursday – before likely heading to a conference committee to work on a compromise between the House and Senate versions. Spending would be for the upcoming fiscal year that begins in July.
Ten amendments were passed by the House, more than the three passed by the Senate when the “Long Bill” was in that chamber last week.
Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, continued his quest to secure funding for birth control, with an amendment that would add $5 million to the Family Planning Program, administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The Democratic-controlled House advanced the amendment.
Coram has also proposed a separate bill that would add $5 million to a program that provides the intrauterine devices, or IUDs, to low-income young women, in an effort to extend the program that has resulted in a 40 percent drop in teen pregnancies. But that bill faces a loss in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Even though funding passed in the budget, it could be removed during continuing negotiations with the Senate in the days ahead.
The House also passed an amendment that would add $1 million for film incentives, an issue close to Southwest Colorado, where there is a long history of filmmaking. Quentin Tarantino is currently filming in Telluride.
Several other amendments, however, failed during the budget debate, including efforts to eliminate funding for certain controversial student assessments.
“There is no doubt that the pendulum has swung way too far in favor of testing,” said Rep. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio.
Budget writers pointed out that several other bills are moving through the Legislature in an effort to reduce testing.
There was also a proposal to address a looming $20-million raid of severance tax dollars, which are provided to local governments to address impacts from natural-gas and oil development. Budget writers say they need the money to meet refund obligations expected to taxpayers.
Water issues also lost during the debate, including a measure by Coram that would have added $5 million to combat phreatophytes, a plant that consumes a significant amount of water. Brown then attempted an amendment that would have added $190,000 to study possible water storage areas along the South Platte River.
Brown was also irked that his colleagues did not advance an amendment that would have provided $15 million for transportation projects.
“We must start to take this seriously,” Brown said. “It is time that we took some leadership and we did something about highways in Colorado.”