Colorado’s $28.9 billion state budget passes conference

A six-member conference committee rejected more than a dozen changes adopted by the two chambers.

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The Colorado State Capitol, Feb. 14, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

The Colorado State Capitol, Feb. 14, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

The $28.9 billion Colorado state budget proposal has cleared another key hurdle.

A six-member conference committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to send the 2018-19 budget bill back to the full legislature after rejecting more than a dozen changes adopted by the two chambers.

Still, the conference budget largely keeps intact added spending that both chambers agreed on. The conference budget includes $35 million for school security, and $4.8 million in housing assistance for ex-offenders with mental health disorders. It also calls for $1 million for affordable housing grants and $300,000 to help the Secretary of State’s Office verify petition signatures.

The conference budget restores $750,000 in film industry incentives the House of Representative had sought to cut. But it eliminates $8 million the state Senate had sought for rural broadband.

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