One of the objectives of the recently concluded special session of the Colorado General Assembly was to address an estimated $800 million budget shortfall. Toward accomplishing this, the legislature passed a series of measures including the removal of some business tax credits, elimination of certain corporate deductions and tapping the state’s reserve fund to make up the difference. As part of the overall cost-saving strategy, Gov. Jared Polis also asked state agencies to reduce their budget requests from the prior year by 2.5% and freeze hiring of new positions.
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It isn’t like Colorado doesn’t already have enough rules, the state has more than 200,000 of them already and according to a study by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, we rank sixth in the country. In several sectors such as utilities, oil-and-gas production and transportation, Colorado has up to seven times more regulations than the median state. In fact, between 2020 and 2023, business restrictions on private sector companies increased by 7.1%, which outpaced even the federal government (1.3%) where the Biden administration put forward a wide range of new rules and regulations.
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