Colorado Catholic Conference 2025 Special Session Review
- Colorado Catholic Conference
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 15 minutes ago
More abortion funding, more taxes, more unsustainable living in Colorado.
On August 6, 2025, Governor Jared Polis signed Executive Order D 2025-009, calling for a special session to address Colorado’s unbalanced budget, as well as the effects of federal legislation H.R.1 and the state’s controversial artificial intelligence law.[1] Following the call by Gov. Polis, the Colorado General Assembly reconvened on August 21 for the first Extraordinary Session of the 75th General Assembly. The scope of the “Special Session” was instructed by the governor to be limited to fiscal, health care, food security and artificial-intelligence-related matters.
Why Have a Special Session of the Legislature?
While the passage of H.R.1 gave sufficient reason to recall the legislature, there have been other budget issues caused by legislative pet projects, including abortion, which was granted more funding during the special session. In June 2025, before H.R.1, state reports were already showing a $700 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2026-27.[2] For fiscal year 2025-26, revisions went down for expected total revenue collected, which impacted different areas of the state.[3] This resulted in the Legislative Council and the Governor’s office raising concerns of a possible recession in Colorado.
Yet, the passage of H.R.1, “One Big Beautiful Bill,” necessitated a call for a special session for two major reasons.
Firstly, the changes that were made to federal tax policy directly impacted the budget. Colorado is one of six states that use Federal Taxable Income (FTI), and one of twenty-four states that have Rolling Conformity (RC) with federal tax policy change.[4] This combination caused Colorado’s budget to become unbalanced. When the Governor signed the “Long Bill” (budget) on April 28, 2025, the budget was declared balanced. Colorado must have a balanced budget, and after H.R.1, the budget was again unbalanced. This was a major reason for the Special Session to address a $783 million budget shortfall for FY 2025-26.[5]
Secondly, within H.R.1, there were changes to reimbursement eligibility for Medicaid services and changes to coverage from the federal government for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These changes could lead to a potential estimated $1 billion of extra costs for the state by 2032, as estimated by the Office of State Planning & Budgeting within the Governor’s office.[6] Currently, the federal government covers 100 percent of the cost for Colorado citizens’ SNAP benefits ($120 million per month).[7] The federal change to SNAP led to increased expenditures for Colorado this year and potentially more in the future as the federal government calculates error rates noted in H.R.1 pertaining to SNAP and Medicaid.
However, these projected state increases will only occur if Colorado refuses to follow the new eligibility restrictions outlined by Congress, ensuring the only persons eligible for Medicaid are those in need of the safety net, including the elderly, sick and disabled. This requires able-bodied adults to work and not live off of federal or state welfare benefits, contributing to the national debt of over $36 trillion.[8]
The Catholic Perspective on New Eligibility Restrictions
For Catholics, the new eligibility restrictions in Medicaid and SNAP are aligned with Church teaching. Charity is the Christian virtue, and work is important for human dignity and the flourishing of society. Catholic Social Teaching supports reforming welfare to encourage responsibility, but it also insists that the poor cannot be abandoned. While reform can protect human dignity by encouraging work and avoiding dependency, it must always ensure that the truly vulnerable — children, the elderly, the disabled and those in crisis — are not left without help.[9] The H.R.1 Medicaid and SNAP eligibility requirements ensure those who need assistance are cared for, while breaking the cycle of dependency for able-bodied adults.
As Pope St. John Paul II wrote in Centesimus Annus, on the 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, the “Welfare State” harms human dignity and the common good by “depriving society of its responsibility,” leading to “a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies.”[10] The principle of subsidiarity works together with the principle of solidarity for the sake of the common good. Pope St. John Paul II defines subsidiarity as the community of the “lower order” being supported, but not interfered with, by the community of the “higher order” — for instance, the relationship of the family to the city, city to the state, or the state to the nation.[11] In Colorado, however, lawmakers fail to realize the need to scale back the federal overreach in welfare for the sake of the common good and subsidiarity, returning primary responsibility to the state, the city, and ultimately the family and civil society. Failing to do so will ultimately centralize welfare concerns on the state level, away from those who know the needs of their immediate community most, and unnecessarily increase taxation and dependency, thereby increasing the cost of living and poverty in Colorado.
More Funding Concerns in Colorado
Because Colorado lawmakers are refusing to align eligibility for SNAP and Medicaid with the federal administration’s new policy, the state could lose even more federal funding in future years, increasing the state budget and deficit even more. This would thus increase the poverty rate and cost of living for average Coloradans even more, causing strain on families.
For instance, the Healthy Meals for All Program modified its language for the 2025 ballot initiative to use funds to offset new costs related to SNAP within the state if the program raises enough to be fully funded.[12] The ballot question, now modified from the special session, will ask voters to allow the state to raise taxes by $95 million annually to address access to healthy foods and support low-income families’ food security. As the state continues to be at odds with the federal government, it will justify the need to raise taxes in Colorado.
Despite welfare concerns over H.R.1, there were positive changes to Medicaid reimbursements that occurred under the federal bill, including “defunding” Planned Parenthood of millions of taxpayer dollars they receive annually. Because of the federal Hyde Amendment, Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics are legally not permitted to use federal Medicaid funding for abortion; however, abortion makes up 97 percent of Planned Parenthood’s “pregnancy resolution services,” and 34 percent of its funding comes from taxpayer funding.[13] While it is a huge victory for life to defund abortion federally, Colorado is funding it even more with state taxpayer dollars. This funding stream grew in the special session.
Colorado’s 2024 Amendment 79 removed the prohibition on taxpayer funding for abortion[14], and the 2025 General Session SB25-183 allocated at least $1.5 million annually[15] in state taxpayer dollars for elective abortion for all 40 weeks of pregnancy. Pro-abortion lawmakers used this special session, under the guise of “healthcare,” to increase funding for abortion. Organizations such as Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which already have over $17 million in liquid assets, lobbied to “offset” their losses from H.R.1. The state lawmakers who are aligned with the abortion industry used the special session to pass SB25B-002, reimbursing Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics an additional $4.4 million annually.
This means, as of 2026, Colorado taxpayers will be spending over $6 million annually on abortion. While Gov. Polis called the legislature back to fix the budget, the pro-abortion majority instead increased access for abortion — tragically further entrenching a culture of death in Colorado.
The sanctity of life is the preeminent issue for the Colorado bishops. Protection of preborn children and the health and safety of their mothers is a non-negotiable moral concern. The Colorado Catholic Conference is very thankful for the pro-life lawmakers who continue to battle abortion bills each year and give a voice to the millions of children silenced by abortion in Colorado.
However, in a creative attempt to address the unbalanced budget, Colorado lawmakers in the special session passed multiple bills related to business tax deductions and sold new tax credits. The legislature looked at both small and large business taxes. Legislation sponsored by the majority party eliminated the state’s Sales Tax Vendor Fee, which allowed certain businesses to retain up to 4 percent of their sales tax collections.[16]
Foreign jurisdictions concerning corporate taxes were also examined, and the legislature expanded the list of countries suspected of being used for tax avoidance that will receive more scrutiny.[17] The state will also now sell tax credits up to $125 million in certificates for an actual value of $100 million, which are nonrefundable and may roll forward through calendar year 2033.[18] Both small and large businesses had tax deductions taken away. Companies that are big enough were given the opportunity to buy credits at less than face value if they could afford the investment.
Colorado and Artificial Intelligence
Lastly, responding to the governor’s request, the General Assembly considered an issue pertaining to Artificial Intelligence (AI) created by SB24-205 “Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence.” The legislation enacted in 2024 was set to take effect in early 2026 and would increase costs on businesses and local governments using AI software. Colorado’s law would ensure companies review AI-utilized decisions in their business to ensure fairness and transparency. While the legislature could not address the law's content, they passed a simple fix and extended the date from February 2026 to June 2026 for implementation.[19] This means they will address the issue again in the 2026 Session, starting in January.
The Budget Debate is Not Over
During the special session, 33 bills were introduced. By the session's conclusion on August 26, 11 bills were passed. None of the concurrent resolutions taking the tax changes to the voters passed, except for changes to the already scheduled Healthy Meals for All Program. Several bills raised taxes on Coloradans (which is not permitted under TABOR without a ballot referendum) — including an additional $4.5 million annually for abortion. Taxes must be just, proportionate and directed toward the common good. Increasing taxes to fund abortion undermines justice; raising them for authentic social support can be legitimate if done fairly. Because the legislature adjourned without a long-term, stable fix to the budget, we can expect the budget to be again the focus of the 2026 General Assembly, which is set to reconvene on January 14, 2026.
Endnotes:
[2] Marianne Goodland, Colorado Politics, “Colorado Legislators Wrap Up Special Session to Plug 800 million budget deficit”, (August 26, 2025) https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2025/08/26/colorado-legislators-wrap-up-special-session-to-plug-800-million-budget-deficit/.
[4] Tax Policy Impacts from the Federal Reconciliation bill, H.R. 1, Mark Ferrandino Director Colorado Office of State Planning & Budgeting.
[6] Tax Policy Impacts from the Federal Reconciliation bill, H.R. 1, Mark Ferrandino Director Colorado Office of State Planning & Budgeting.
[8] US Treasury, https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-debt/.
[9] Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 184–186.
[10] Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus (May 1, 1991). https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus.html (§48)
[11] Ibid.
[12] SB25B-003 Healthy School Meals for All, 75th General Assembly, Special Session (Colorado 2025).
[13] Planned Parenthood’s 2022-23 annual report show that taxpayer funding in the form of government grants, contracts and Medicaid reimbursements hit $699.3 million, or almost $2 million per day — making up 34% of Planned Parenthood’s overall revenue.
[14] This was previously Section 50 of Article V of the state constitution, which prohibited state funding from being used for abortion. Amendment 79 deceptively removed this constitutional provision and Amendment 79’s fiscal note declared the ballot amendment to have a $0 impact. This is because sponsors knew that the legislature would return in January 2025 and allocate a multi-million-dollar funding stream for abortion, which they did with SB25-183.
[15] The $1.5 million allocated with SB25-183 was a floor not a ceiling. The fiscal note stated that the calculation was based on “savings” incurred because “abortion is cheaper than labor and delivery.” The state based its fiscal savings off more children being aborted in Colorado. Because the bill has no ceiling, a true calculation based on actual abortion numbers in Colorado is likely more than $8 million taxpayer dollars per year under SB25-183. The fiscal note and bill may be found here: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25-183.
[16] HB25B-1005 Eliminate State Sales Tax Vendor Fee, 75th General Assembly, Special Session (Colorado 2025)
[17] HB25B-1002 Corporate Income Tax Foreign Jurisdictions, 75th General Assembly, Special Session (Colorado 2025)
[18] HB25B-1004 Sale of Tax Credits 75th General Assembly, Special Session (Colorado 2025)
[19] SB25B-004 Increase Transparency for Algorithmic Systems 75th General Assembly, Special Session (Colorado 2025)
