Colorado special session wrapped: Gov. Polis signs bills to address state’s $1 billion budget gap

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado special session, called to address the state's over $1 billion budget hole caused by changes in the 2025 federal spending bill, has wrapped – but the work is far from over, state Democrats say.

In a release, the governor's office says it is "doing everything possible" to minimize the damage to Colorado communities by "closing corporate tax loopholes, utilizing some rainy day funds, and making necessary cuts."

On Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis announced state leaders had created a three-prong approach to closing the budget hole, which includes:

• 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.
• Limited use of the General Fund reserve, totalling $325 million.
• Current fiscal year spending reductions of $105 million and General Fund transfers of $147 million, totaling roughly $250 million.

“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," Polis said in a release.

During the special sesson, Polis signed SB25B-001, titled "Processes to Reduce Spending During Shortfall," giving him authority to take measures across the state in order to reduce costs and balance the budget. Read Polis' signing statement here.

Shortly afterwards, he signed an executive order giving the governor the authority to suspend certain spending in order to ensure the state's budget is balanced by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Other bills signed during the special session

This week, Gov. Polis also signed two other bills responding to changes in federal funding included in President Donald Trump's so-called "One Big, Beautiful Bill."

One aims to boost state SNAP funding after the governor said federal cuts threatened food security for 300,00 Coloradoans; the other ensures Medicaid coverage at providers like Planned Parenthood after a provision in the federal bill blocked reimbursements to providers that offer abortions.

READ MORE: Gov. Polis signs bills to protect healthy food access, Planned Parenthood coverage from federal cuts

Gov. Polis also signed the following bills into law during the course of the 2025 special session:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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