Colorado Wasteful Spending (FY 2024-25)

Courtesy of Colorado State Representative
Larry-Don Suckla, State House District 58

7/7/2025

Department of Corrections: $ 7,995,411 Increase 28.3 FTE

● Transgender Unit and Healthcare

- $2,677,911 to create two transgender living units totaling 148 beds.

- $5,317,500 for “gender-confirming surgical care.

●Clinical Staff Incentives

-$6,312,464 General Fund to provide incentive payments for certain DOC clinical staff up to $25,000. The bill includes an increase of $6,312,464 General Fund to provide incentive payments for certain DOC clinical staff up to $25,000.

●HB 24-1389 School Funding 2023-24 for New Arrival Students (immigrants): $24,000,000

- The bill provides $24,000,000 to be distributed to school districts and charter schools for new arrival students. It increases state expenditures and school district funding in the current FY 2023-24 only.

● Office of New Americans Expansion (immigrants): $119,029 General Fund and 1.5 FTE

- $119,029 General Fund and 1.5 FTE for an administrator to manage ONA grants, coordinate with other entities, and identify opportunities for new migrant career pathway enhancement and a full-time program assistant to support the ONA Director.

- This office has had difficulty expending grants.

●SB 24-182 Immigrant Identification Document Issuance: $ 122,855

- The bill changes certain requirements for the issuance of driver licenses or state identification cards to individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States. The bill increases state expenditures for FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26 only.

●HB 24-1280 Welcome, Reception, Integration, Grant Program: $ 2,436,862

- The bill creates the Statewide Welcome, Reception, and Integration Grant Program to provide assistance to migrants. It transfers funds in FY 2024-25 only

●Immigrant Legal Defense Fund: $ 350,000

- Long Bill budget amendment

- A doubling of the fund for FY 2024-25 making a total budget of $700,000. This funding is used for public defense for people facing immigration legal issues. Sponsored by Rep. Mabrey and Sen. Gonzalez.

●Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice: $ 2,840,715

- Funding for the Office

- Mission: Build partnerships to mobilize community power and transform systems to advance health equity and environmental justice.

What this office does to advance their mission:

1. Build relationships with communities and across sectors to address root causes of health disparities.

2. Use equity in decision-making and partner with all sectors of government to embed health and equity considerations into their decision-making process.

3. Use data to support the narrative of the social determinants of health and tell the story of what creates health.

4. De-center communications from the English language or any one dominant language, and prioritize language justice when engaging with communities.

5. Develop, implement, and provide guidance on health equity training, practice, and policies within CDPHE and across the state of Colorado.

6. Focus on upstream determinants of health, guided by the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative.

●HB 24-1197 Department of Public Safety Supplemental: $ 9,800,000

- Funding for Community-based organizations providing service for migrants.

- Funds to provide grants to community-based organizations providing services to people

migrating to Colorado.

●Department of Education: $ 56,100,000

- Expanding Healthy Meals for All Program.

- Adds $56.1 million total funds for the Healthy School Meals for All Program, including $40.6 million from the Healthy School Meals for All Program General Fund Exempt Account and $15.5 million from the General Fund. This includes an increase of $56.0 million for meal reimbursements and $100,000 for consulting resources.

●HB 21-1318 Department of Public Health & Environment: $ 198,192

- Outdoor Equity Program

- This bill injected identity politics into access to the outdoors.

●Department of Public Health & Environment: $2,840,715 total funds and 8.3 FTE

- Creating the Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice by combining two offices.

- The bill includes an increase of $2,840,715 total funds and 8.3 FTE, including a reduction of $11,349 General Fund, to join the Environmental Justice Program with the Office of Health Equity to form the Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice (OHEEJ) for the purpose of centralizing environmental justice staff. OHEEJ is responsible for ongoing environmental justice work, including administration of environmental health mitigation grants through the Community Impact Cash Fund.

●Department of Revenue: $714,515 total funds and 8.3 FTE

- GENTAX & DRIVES SUPPORT FUNDING: The bill includes an increase of $714,515 total funds and 8.3 FTE, comprised of $442,906 General Fund and $271,609 cash funds from the Colorado DRIVES Vehicle Services. Account, in FY 2024-25. Funds willaddress the backlog of upgrades and system enhancements to the DRIVES and GenTax systems stemming from legislative, user experience, and system operational demands.

Colorado DOGE Reports Analysis of Colorado's Misguided Spending Priorities

By Colorado DOGE Report Staff

7/7/2025

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.