2 weeks Ago By Marianne Goodland [email protected]
The Colorado legislature's budget committee has introduced a bill that lawmakers believe will eventually provide the $350 million for public safety approved by voters last November under Proposition 130. The funding, however, won't flow into the fund set up for that purpose for more than a year. Proposition 130 did not specify a timeline for initiating the program.
The proposition created the Peace Officer Training and Support (POTS) Fund to increase annual pay for law enforcement officers; provide one-time hiring, recruitment, and retention bonuses for law enforcement officers; hire additional officers to address specific geographic locations or types of crime; provide ongoing training to new and veteran officers in areas, such as the use of force, restraints, and physical fitness; and establish a one-time death benefit of $1 million for each law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty. Voters approved the measure by more than five percentage points last November. Senate Bill 310, sponsored by the Joint Budget Committee, will direct the state treasurer to issue a warrant from the general fund reserve on July 1 for $500 million and that would go to the Public Employees' Retirement Association.
The second part is tied to the annual payment the General Assembly makes to PERA every year. That payment, of $225 million, is intended to help shore up its unfunded liability and adopted in 2018. According to the bill, that payment would be reduced to $190 million per year to cover a reduction of $35 million from the PERA annual payment.
However, this reduction would not impact PERA, as it would continue to earn investment income and interest of at least that amount every year from the $500 million transfer. That would continue until the entire $350 million has been paid, a minimum of 10 years. The bill prohibits the general fund reserve from dipping below $1 billion, including in future years.
The general fund reserve is expected to end 2024-25 at about $2.2 billion. SB 310 addresses an issue raised by Gov.
Jared Polis during his State of the State address — paying a death benefit to the widow of a Golden police officer killed in the line of duty last year. Polis wants that death benefit paid to the widow of Officer Evan Dunn this year, but the bill doesn't appear to allow for that first payment until next year. The bill directs the the state treasurer to transfer $5 million from the general fund to a death benefit fund on both July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2027 and to make annual transfers as needed from the general fund thereafter to maintain a balance of $10 million.
SB 310 has been assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee..
