by Colleen Enos
The last two weeks have been full of SMART Act (State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent Government) hearings at the Capitol with a smattering of committee work on bills. The Joint Judiciary Committee met for three days, and the Joint Health and Human Services Committee met for two. Here are some of the highlights from the hearings.
Attorney General Phil Weiser presented to the Joint Judiciary Committee on behalf of the Department of Law (DOL). During his presentation, he stated that Colorado, at his direction, has filed 51 lawsuits against the Trump Administration for a cost of approximately $600,000. As a reminder, in the 2025 legislative session lawmakers passed HB25-1321, Support Against Adverse Federal Action, to create the Colorado Defense Fund for Governor Polis to use in lawsuits against the Trump Administration. Attorney General Weiser also claimed that Colorado Springs was “bending the knee” by not supporting his lawsuit against the administration regarding the Space Command move. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) remains one of the three main initiatives in the 2025-26 Strategic Plan for the DOL (see page 31 of this plan). It would seem obvious that Colorado’s focus on DEI, sanctuary state policies, and transgender affirmation would lead to federal dollars being withheld from our state.
The Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) had a hard time answering questions about the release of violent offenders back into the community. Colorado competency laws were changed in 2024 when House Bill 24-1034 was passed, which mandated charges be dismissed when an offender is deemed incompetent and not able to be restored. The Common Sense Institute did a deep dive on this issue. However, the Department of Corrections still could not explain its faulty risk assessment tool for parolees.
In the Joint Health and Human Services Committee SMART Act hearings, there was disturbing economic news. The Office of the State Auditor reported that there had been a 39% increase in funding to Health Facility Licensing Cash Funds with no data to support it (see page 31 of this report). The Auditor also cited $25 million in Medicaid fraud from medical transportation rides. Overall, Colorado Medicaid is growing at an unsustainable rate and according to the Joint Budget Committee, the growth in Medicaid, under the Health Care Policy and Financing Department, will overtake all other spending in Colorado’s budget (see Slide 8 in this presentation). Over 50 bills have recently expanded eligibility and benefits (see Slide 4 in this presentation). Representative Sirota referenced a 66% increase in overall Medicaid spending from 2019-25 and a 91% increase in long-term care spending over the same timeframe.
Finally, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) must implement the commonsense changes passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill, HR1. Those changes include work requirements for able-bodied adults, 6-month eligibility verification and limited non-citizen eligibility. Senator Weissman blames it all on the Trump administration and conveniently leaves out that Colorado decided to expand its Medicaid program all on its own.
Colorado’s decisions do have consequences and without the Covid slush fund, it looks like now is the time our state must own up to them.
What you can do:
Call and email your state representative and state senator:
- Ask them to cut unnecessary programs
- Ask them to support homeschool families
In Him,
Colleen Enos
CHEC Director of Government Relations
colleen@chec.org
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