Colorado DOGE Reports Analysis of Colorado's Misguided Spending Priorities

By Colorado DOGE Report Staff

Colorado’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget reveals a troubling pattern of wasteful spending, prioritizing ideological projects and inefficient programs over the state’s core needs. With millions allocated to initiatives that lack clear justification or measurable outcomes, taxpayers deserve a closer look at where their money is going.

The Department of Corrections is a prime example, with nearly $8 million in new spending, including $2.7 million for transgender living units and $5.3 million for gender-confirming surgical care. While inmate healthcare is important, such costly and specialized programs raise questions about whether these funds could better address broader prison system challenges, like overcrowding or staff shortages. Similarly, $6.3 million for clinical staff incentives feels excessive when core correctional services remain underfunded.

Education spending also raises concerns. The $56.1 million expansion of the Healthy School Meals for All Program is a noble goal, but its hefty price tag demands scrutiny. With $40.6 million from a dedicated fund and $15.5 million from the General Fund, the program’s long-term sustainability is unclear, especially when basic educational outcomes, like reading and math proficiency, continue to lag. Meanwhile, $24 million for new arrival students, while addressing immediate needs, risks diverting resources from existing students without a clear plan for integration or long-term funding.

The state’s focus on immigrant-related programs further strains the budget. The Office of New Americans, expanded with $119,029 and 1.5 full-time employees, struggles to expend its grants effectively, yet it receives more funding. Similarly, $122,855 for issuing identification documents to non-lawfully present individuals and $2.4 million for a migrant welcome and integration program add to the tally. The Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, doubled to $700,000, prioritizes legal aid for immigration cases over pressing local concerns. These initiatives, totaling millions, lack transparent metrics to justify their costs or demonstrate tangible benefits to Colorado residents.

The creation of the Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice, funded at $2.8 million with 8.3 full-time employees, epitomizes ideological overreach. Its mission to “de-center” English in communications and focus on “upstream determinants of health” sounds lofty but lacks practical clarity. Combining environmental justice and health equity programs may streamline administration, but the office’s vague goals and reliance on unproven strategies risk wasting resources that could fund measurable public health improvements.

Other expenditures, like $9.8 million for community-based organizations serving migrants and $198,192 for an Outdoor Equity Program injecting identity politics into outdoor access, further illustrate a disconnect. These programs prioritize niche agendas over universal needs, such as infrastructure or economic relief for struggling families. Even the Department of Revenue’s $714,515 for upgrading outdated systems, while necessary, highlights how basic government functions are underfunded compared to these flashy initiatives.

Colorado’s budget should reflect the priorities of its residents: safe communities, strong schools, and efficient government. Instead, millions are funneled into programs with questionable impact, driven more by ideology than practicality. Taxpayers deserve better. Lawmakers must reassess these expenditures, demand clear accountability, and focus on delivering results that benefit all Coloradans, not just select groups.