Bills may propose changes this year, but JBC members say lawmakers will get plenty of chances to have their say.
The annual roller derby that is the state budget's trip through the legislature is over for the year.
Both chambers late last week gave final approval to the budget, sending it to Gov. Bill Ritter for his signature.
And after three weeks of party strategy meetings, lengthy and combustible floor fights over 151 proposed amendments, pounding-on- the-lectern rhetoric and general partisan fisticuffs, here is what the legislature has to show for it: $2.4 million shuffled around in the budget from where it had been originally.
In a $17.6 billion budget, that shuffled money is a mere .014 percent. A number of lawmakers wonder whether there is a better way.
"I think it's time we upgrade the budget, Colorado budget 2.0," said Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma. ". . . When you're talking about spending $18 billion, there is no reason 100 legislators shouldn't be able to amend, vote and debate the budget in a more open manner."
Gardner is among a handful of legislators who say they intend to introduce before the end of the session proposed rule changes to how Colorado crafts its budget. A number of lawmakers plan to meet over the summer to talk about bigger changes.
"Every year when we get to this point, we hear these things where some of the other 94 members seem to think it's an easy process," said Sen. John Morse, a Colorado Springs Democrat who is one of the six members of the legislature's Joint Budget Committee. ". . . It's not as easy as you think."
The Joint Budget Committee, or JBC, spends months putting together the budget, which then hits the floor of either the House or Senate in March. Within two weeks, both chambers need to have argued, amended and passed the budget.
Because the House and the Senate have to pass the same version of the bill, a conference committee — made up of the JBC members — is appointed to resolve differences. In conference committee, the JBC members often take off amendments, then send it back for final approval.
This year, the House passed four amendments, and the Senate added 12 more, though some of those took off House amendments. By the time the budget emerged from the conference committee, only six of the amendments remained.
Gardner suggests expanding the JBC to 10 members, as well as switching to biennial budgeting. Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, said she intends to introduce a rule change that would give the legislature more time to review and debate the budget.
Curry is also looking at allowing other legislative committees to review portions of the budget and make advisory votes on it. Gardner and Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, are considering similar ideas.
"I don't think the process is set up to allow for up-front engagement that is more meaningful than trying to put amendments on after decisions have been made," Curry said.
JBC members, though, said lawmakers have the opportunity to attend any of their meetings, all of which are public, and make suggestions.
JBC member Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Larimer County, said some tension around the process will likely always exist.
"It is the one bill we have to pass," he said. "No one gets everything they like."
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
Every member of the legislature is welcome to join every JBC budget briefing and hearing, ask questions, and participate in the debate. Every member of the legislature can amend the budget.
When the JBC holds hearings on departments, members of the committees that oversee those departments can get paid a per diem for attending.
After the briefings and hearings, the JBC visits every committee to brief the members on the budget.
When the JBC wants to adjust the budget in a way that requires a change in law, the members have to carry a bill that goes through the usual committees. That, by the way, can be agonizing. A committee that's concerned with just one portion of the budget can fight to prevent budget cuts without worrying about balancing the overall budget.
Colorado's budget is limited. There are a lot of good ideas that can't get money. It's always disappointing when something you think is important can't get funded. It happens at least as much to members of the JBC as it does to any other legislator. They hear about every item that needs money and hear a lot of good arguments in favor of them.
Some members choose not to participate in the budget process, and some argue for cutting the budget without knowing what's in it. Then when something they want doesn't get funded, or gets cut, they howl and demand changes to the process. But changing the process won't make any more money available and it won't guarantee that every legislator will get the money he or she wants for his or her district.
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