Colorado’s schools, colleges and universities, health care safety net, human services programs, prisons and transportation system all depend on General Fund revenues for much of their funding. Together they account for more than 80 percent of total state investments.

Not only will projected state revenues not be enough to maintain state buildings, roads and bridges in their current condition, they also will not be enough to pay for any new or expanded services to accommodate growth.

Colorado lags behind other states in investing in many smaller but equally important programs, such as state courts, environmental regulation, services for the developmentally disabled, public safety and services for veterans.

K-12 education
Almost 800,000 students are enrolled in Colorado’s public schools in nearly 180 school districts. Various calculations rank Colorado between 37th and 49th in investment in public education. The most recent data show:

• Colorado average per pupil investment: $7,939
• U.S. average per pupil investment: $8,973
• Difference: -$1,034
• Four of Colorado’s neighboring states invest more per pupil

  Kansas: $923 more
  

  Nebraska: $1,991 more
  

  New Mexico: $492 more
  

  Wyoming: $3,187 more

K-12 needs: An analysis by the Colorado School Finance Project forecasts that we will need an additional $2.9 billion annually to adequately invest in our public schools. That’s just for academics, not for maintaining or building facilities. What is eye-opening is that if Colorado were to spend per student what Wyoming currently spends per student, our state basically would meet the projected $2.9 billion obligation.

Source: Colorado School Finance Project

Higher education
Colorado’s investment in postsecondary education is well below the U.S. average.

Source: 2008 Toward a More Competitive Colorado, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

Higher education needs: Compared to a representative group of peer institutions in other states, Colorado’s colleges and universities as a whole receive just 64 percent of average funding, according to an independent study done for the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Providing Colorado institutions with the average level of support would require an additional $832 million investment each year.

Source: Looking Forward: Colorado’s Fiscal Prospects After Ref C, December 2007, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, The Bell Policy Center, Colorado Children’s Campaign

Health care
The cost of health insurance is escalating rapidly. About one-fifth of our population is uninsured.

• Coloradoans without insurance: estimated 792,000

  17 percent of our population – nearly one-fifth – is uninsured.
  

  70 percent are in the work force or dependents of a worker.
  

  About 40 percent are young adults ages 19 to 34.
  

  Almost 20 percent are children.
  

  57 percent are white.

• Uninsured found in all income groups

  32 percent have family incomes of $20,000 or less annually

  75 percent have family incomes of $50,000 or less annually

  13 percent have family incomes of $75,000 or more annually

  6.5 percent have family incomes of $100,000 or more annually

Source: Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform, Final Report to the General Assembly, Jan. 31, 2008

Health care needs: According to an independent actuarial review, the fiscal impact of health care options would vary widely, but the investment could range from $389 million to well over $1 billion a year.

Source: Looking Forward: Colorado’s Fiscal Prospects After Ref C, December 2007, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, The Bell Policy Center, Colorado Children’s Campaign

Transportation
Transportation revenue is not keeping pace with inflation, and construction costs continue to rise. Colorado’s gasoline tax, the primary source of transportation funding, has not increased in 17 years. Since 1992, TABOR has prevented state lawmakers from raising taxes to keep pace with construction-cost inflation, which has averaged 6.4 percent per year since 1992. Keeping up with inflation would have required a penny-and-a-half increase in the gas tax per year. At current investment levels, fewer than 40 percent of state roads will be in good or fair condition by 2016.

Without increased investment, it will not be possible to maintain the current surface condition of state roads. Today, if you drive an hour on an average stretch of highway, you will spend 20 minutes on rough pavement. By 2016, you will spend 40 minutes of every hour on rough pavement. This takes a toll on your car. It is also bad for state finances – roads and bridges that are not maintained today will cost more to repair tomorrow.

Source: Colorado Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel, A Report to Colorado, January 2008

Transportation needs: The Department of Transportation estimates the state needs up to $2.6 billion more than its current annual investment of approximately $1.1 billion.

Source: Looking Forward: Colorado’s Fiscal Prospects After Ref C, December 2007, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, The Bell Policy Center, Colorado Children’s Campaign