Governor Polis Signs Laws, Takes Executive Action to Fix the Billion Dollar Budget Hole Created by Trump and Congressional Republicans

Thursday, August 28, 2025

DENVER - Today, Governor Polis signed a number of bills and took Executive Action to address the billion-dollar budget hole President Trump, and Representatives Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd, Lauren Boebert, and Jeff Crank created through H.R.1. This law kicks millions of Americans off health care, makes it harder for Coloradans to access food, and slashed the state budget through tax breaks for massive corporations, forcing the Governor and legislature to take urgent action to balance the budget.


“This special session was necessary to address the threat H.R.1 has on schools, health care and roads, and I’m proud of our partnership with the General Assembly to get this done. These are challenging decisions that President Trump and Republicans in the Washington swamp are forcing states to make. The budget hole created by H.R. 1 threatens the things Coloradans want real results on: education, saving money on health care, and fixing our roads,” said Governor Jared Polis.


The Polis administration and legislature are doing everything possible to minimize the damage to Colorado communities by closing corporate tax loopholes, utilizing some rainy day funds, and making necessary cuts. Gov. Polis thanks the legislature for their hard work over the past week, and knows there is more work ahead. Congress may be able to blow up the national debt, but Colorado has a responsibility to balance our budget.


The Governor and General Assembly took a three-pronged approach to responsibly close this budget hole.

1. Closing tax loopholes for large corporations. Bills passed during the special session close corporate tax loopholes and are estimated to account for nearly $250 million.

2. Limited use of the General Fund reserve, totalling $325 million.

3. Current fiscal year spending reductions of $105 million and General Fund transfers of $147 million, totaling roughly $250 million.


Governor Polis signed SB25B-001 - Processes to Reduce Spending During Shortfall, sponsored by Senators Judy Amabile and James Coleman, and Representatives Julie McCluskie and Emily Sirota. This law gives the Governor authority to take measures across the state to reduce costs and save money, balancing the budget. Read the Governor’s signing statement.


Shortly after that he signed Executive Order D 2025 014, which gives the Governor the authority to suspend certain spending to ensure Colorado’s budget is balanced before the end of Fiscal Year 2025-26. The order outlines the specific funding suspensions through the end of Fiscal Year 2025-26. The Office of State Planning and Budgeting also submitted a letter to the Joint Budget Committee alongside the Executive Order to explain the cuts more thoroughly.


Governor Polis also signed the following bills into law administratively:

HB25B-1001 - Qualified Business Income Deduction Add-Back, sponsored by Representative Emily Sirota, and Senators Nick Hinrichsen and Lisa Cutter.

HB25B-1002 - Corporate Income Tax Foreign Jurisdictions, sponsored by Representatives Yara Zokaie and Bob Marshall, and Senator Matt Ball.

HB25B-1003 - Insurance Premium Tax Rate for Home Offices, sponsored by Representatives Javier Mabrey and Andrew Boesenecker and Senators Mike Weissman and Julie Gonzales.

HB25B-1004 - Sale of Tax Credits, sponsored by Representatives Rebekah Stewart and Sean Camacho, and Senators Janice Marchman and Marc Snyder.

HB25B-1005 - Eliminate State Sales Tax Vendor Fee, sponsored by Representatives Steven Woodrow and Karen McCormick, and Senators Cathy Kipp and Faith Winter.

HB25B-1006 - Improve Affordability Private Health Insurance, sponsored by Representatives Kyle Brown and Lindsay Gilchrist, and Senators Iman Jodeh and Kyle Mullica.

SB25B-004 - Increase Transparency for Algorithmic Systems, sponsored by Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez and Representative Jennifer Bacon.

SB25-005 - Reallocate Department of Natural Resources Wolf Funding to Health Insurance Enterprise, sponsored by Senators Dylan Roberts and Marc Catlin, and Representatives Meghan Lukens and Matthew Martinez.

 

###