Restored, New and Increased Programs in the Colorado State Budget Following the 2001 Recession
This paper examines the extent to which the revenue that the State of Colorado was able to retain under Referendum C, passed by voters in November 2005, have been used to restore programs eliminated or reduced during the recent recession, in the first two years of the five-year timeout in Ref. C.
The adopted budgets for Fiscal Year 200506 and FY 0607, as well as the Supplemental budget for FY 0506, were reviewed to obtain information about restored or new programs in the general fund. Decisions had to be made as to whether a given line item increase constituted a restored or new program, or whether it was merely the normal annual adjustment to maintain a given level of service. The latter were not intended to be included in this analysis.
Released May 17, 2007

