Colorado: SB-267 Just a Drop in the Bucket

SB-267, “Sustainability of Rural Colorado,” a legislative compromise that solved the Hospital Provider Fee’s impact on the TABOR cap, will not solve Colorado’s transportation funding crisis. Over time the bill will generate $1.8 billion for transportation but 25 percent is slated for rural roads and 10 percent is dedicated to transit, leaving about $1 billion for other transportation projects such as North I-25 and I-70. As Governor Hickenlooper and CDOT Director Shailen Bhatt have warned, Colorado has over $9 billion in unmet transportation needs.  In fact, at an event in Colorado last week, Bhatt said our state will need $20 billion over the next 20 years.