The votes are in and here's what Colorado lawmakers want to spend money on

The votes are in following House Democrats' new process for determining which bills would pass, assuming the money is there.

The new process, as outlined by House and Senate Democrats in early April, replaces the "quadratic" voting system that a Denver District Court ruled in January is illegal. 

Once the 2024-25 state budget headed back to the Joint Budget Committee, which came with a compromise version approved by both the House and Senate, lawmakers got to work voting on their priorities for the scant amount of money, relatively speaking, that they have to spend on new programs.

The "set-aside" from the Joint Budget Committee, the panel of lawmakers that drafts the state's annual spending plan, is around $22 million, but some of that is already spoken for. It covers sunset bills that renew certain statutory programs that would otherwise expire.

Democratic lawmakers looked at 43 tax credit bills, 95 bills with general fund requirements of less than $200,000, and 126 bills needing more than $200,000.

In the latter category, those bills ranged in cost from $200,000 to $80 million.

The memo on the new preference voting system noted more bills are moving through the legislative process than can ultimately be funded.

Republican lawmakers did not participate, citing concerns over transparency. Not every Democrat participated, either.

The results showed that 34 out of 46 House Democrats expressed a preference; in the Senate, just a dozen out of 23 participated.

Each lawmaker could choose five tax credit bills, 10 bills with a general fund impact of less than $200,000 and 20 bills with a general fund impact of more than $200,000.

So what did Democratic lawmakers like?

The top vote-getters among tax credit bills — measures that received more than one vote — chosen by Senate Democrats included the following: 

• House Bill 1125 provides a tax credit for converting a commercial building to a residential structure, with a general fund cost of $127,823, plus $1,500 from the TABOR surplus.

• House Bill 1134 is an omnibus bill that includes expansion of the state earned income tax credit and the state child care expenses tax credit, with a cost of $44 million, which would come from the TABOR surplus.

• House Bill 1311, the package's most expensive tax credit bill, provides a "family affordability tax credit," with a cost of $655 million, which would come from the TABOR surplus.

House Democrats expressed a preference for:

• HB 1001 deals with a rural jump start program, with a general fund cost of $873,304 and a $500,000 hit to the TABOR surplus

• HB 1052 is a senior housing tax credit with a general fund cost of $113,407. It would take $70 million from the TABOR surplus.

• HB 1125 deals with the commercial building tax credit

• HB 1134 is the omnibus tax credit bill

• HB 1311 deals with the family affordability tax credit

All TABOR surplus estimates are for 2024-25.

Among the bills with a general fund cost under $200,000, the top vote getters from House Democrats are:

• HB 1004 is a bill that allows ex-offenders to be considered for certain occupations. This is paid for with cash that would come from fees for regulated occupations, about $170,000. It has no general fund cost. The bill received six votes total, including two top votes.

• HB 1008 expands general contractor liability for wage claims involving their subcontractors. It has a general fund cost of just under $100,000. The bill received 13 votes, including three top votes.

• HB 1030 deals with railroad safety, with a general fund cost of $11,651. It received 21 votes, including three top votes.

• HB 1316 is a middle-income housing tax credit. The general fund cost is $30,842 and would take $800,000 out of the TABOR surplus. It received eight votes.

• HB 1376 is a teacher mentorship grant program, with a general fund cost of $500,000. It received seven votes total, including two top votes.

• SB 42 is a bill on sickle cell disease community outreach, with a general fund cost of $200,000. It received 7 votes total, including two top votes.

For bills with a general fund cost exceeding $200,000, the top vote-getters from the House were:

• HB 1001 is a reauthorization of the rural jump-start grant and tax credit program, which will reduce the general fund by $500,000 and cancel a transfer to the general fund in 2023-24 of $873,000, which will be applied to the program in 2024-25. It received 11 votes, including two top votes.

• HB 1009 is a bill on bilingual child care resources, with a general fund cost of just over $280,000. It received 11 votes, including three top votes.

• HB 1043 is the annual payment to the state's fire and police pension fund of $9.13 million in the general fund. It received two top votes out of its eight total votes.

• HB 1045 is a program for substance abuse disorders. It carries a total cost of $5.3 million in all funds in the first year, including $3.3 million in general funds. It received four top votes and 17 votes total.

• HB 1075 is a study of a statewide universal healthcare payment system. Its general fund cost is just over $417,000. It received 13 votes, including two top votes.

None of the bills with a general fund impact of under $200,000 received more than one vote from Senate Democrats. The same was true for bills with a general fund impact of more than $200,000; none received more than one vote.