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The purpose of this publication is to help readers understand how Colorado finances its public
elementary and secondary schools. Its major focus is an explanation of the funding formula included in
the Public School Finance Act of 2024 (referred to as 2024 Act), which identifies an amount of funding for
each of the 178 school districts in the state.

This document lists the LCS Fiscal Analyst assigned to work on the fiscal note for each bill and concurrent resolution introduced at the 2026 session. This list will be updated periodically throughout the session. If you need assistance, contact Bill Zepernick, Fiscal Notes Manager, at bill.zepernick@coleg.gov / 303-866-4777.

Fiscal Note Data Reports show the fiscal impact of all legislation currently pending before the General Assembly at the 2026 session, based on the most recent Legislative Council Staff fiscal note. Updated reports will be posted approximately weekly during the legislative session through the General Assembly Box file sharing system at the links below. After session, final data will be posted. Fiscal data is provided in both a sortable Excel and a printable PDF format.

Colorado has a complex framework of laws regulating the manufacture, distribution, sale, and consumption of alcohol in the state. This issue brief outlines Colorado liquor laws, including the regulatory structure; government revenue streams; and the role of state and local governments in licensing and enforcement. For additional information, see the Legislative Council Staff Colorado Liquor Licensing Handbook.

The Long Bill Narrative, which is the annual appropriations act, is prepared by staff to explain funding decisions recommended by the JBC to the rest of the General Assembly.  This document is a companion document to the actual Long Bill.  The narrative outlines budget changes based on the introduced version of the Long Bill.

This packet contains fiscal notes for bills introduced as part of the FY 2026-27 Long Bill Budget
Package recommended by the Joint Budget Committee. These fiscal notes reflect the bills as
introduced in the House of Representatives, except that two fiscal notes reflect unintroduced bill
drafts (as of this writing). Note: a fiscal note has not been prepared for HB 26-1410 (the Long
Bill) - See the Joint Budget Committee Staff Long Bill Narrative for more information about
funding changes in the budget.

This is the Joint Budget Committee's schedule. Please check this document regularly for schedule updates.

Term Limit Information for Members of the Colorado State Senate.

The instream flow (ISF) program was created by legislation in 1973, which authorized the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to appropriate or acquire water rights of natural streams and lakes to preserve the natural environment without diverting the water. The ISF program recognized the need to balance the environmental benefits that come from maintaining water in a stream within the confines of the prior appropriation system.

Legislative Council Staff (LCS) fiscal notes estimate a bill’s fiscal impact relative to current law. There are four tax credits in current law, known as triggered tax credits, whose availability or amounts are dependent on state revenue conditions. Bills that affect state revenue subject to TABOR may affect the availability or level of these triggered tax credits. If a bill impacts state revenue subject to TABOR such that it is expected to change the availability or level of a triggered tax credit, the bill’s fiscal note will show revenue impacts that result from that change. 

Fiscal Note FAQ's

Focus Colorado presents forecasts for the economy and state government revenue through FY 2027-28. Implications of the forecast for the state's General Fund budget and spending limit are described in the report's highlights and executive summary sections. The report is based on current law, legislation passed by the General Assembly affecting the forecast is described throughout the report.

2026 Senate Committees of Reference Membership

Until the 1980s, farming practices relied heavily on shared knowledge, experience, and intuition. The introduction of precision agriculture – the use of technology and automation to make farming more efficient – both transformed farming practices and introduced a number of agriculture data challenges. Today, data-driven digital agriculture is expected to play a crucial role in producing 60 percent more food to feed the projected global population by 2050 (Yu et al. 2025).

These common public health definitions were adapted from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.

This narrative describes the Legislative Department’s budget proposal for FY 2026-27.

This memorandum presents the 2026 Legislative Council Staff forecast for the state public institutions of higher education. The forecast provides projections of resident and nonresident full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment for the current year (FY 2025-26) and budget year (FY 2026-27). The forecast also includes projected tuition revenue for FY 2025-26. 

Report No. 2026-TE1

This memorandum provides an overview of known online data collection and tracking methods often used by third parties, including data brokers. While the ecosystem of online data collection and tracking is vast, this memorandum primarily focuses on user side collection and tracking methods and briefly describes ongoing research regarding non-user-side third-party data tracking and brokerage.

The concept of social determinants of health originated nearly 200 years ago, when philosopher and businessman Friedrich Engels identified living, working, and environmental conditions as primary causes of morbidity (illness or lack of health caused by disease, disability, or injury) and mortality among the working class in Victorian-era England.

Data centers are growing rapidly across the United States. They require large amounts of electricity for computational power and water to cool the computer systems. This memorandum explores the impacts of data centers on technology, local economies, electricity, water, public health, and energy costs. It also covers recent federal and state legislation.

Using data from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) on Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program), this memo reviews the number of denials of prior authorization requests, the number of annual Medicaid appeals, and the outcomes of those appeals. It concludes with resources for filing an appeal.

This memo analyzes the public health implications of raw milk consumption, noting that while proponents cite perceived taste and nutritional benefits, scientific evidence shows unpasteurized dairy products cause significantly more illnesses and outbreaks than pasteurized dairy products. Raw milk may have a protective effect against early-childhood asthma and allergies; however, there are also risks of life-threatening infections, particularly for vulnerable populations like children.