Colorado legislators began to advance proposals dealing with an $800 million budget shortfall on Thursday, just hours after the legislature officially re-convened to deal with the revenue shortfall.

They started with a hearing on Senate Bill 1, which adds a requirement to the existing state law that outlines the governor's authority to make spending reductions in case of a significant drop in revenue.

Under SB 1, Gov. Jared Polis would be required to develop a plan and present it to the Joint Budget Committee before it goes into effect.

Lawmakers and the Polis administration have indicated that budget cuts should be put into place by Sept. 1 in order to spread out any reductions over 10 months, instead of waiting until next February, when budget adjustments to the current spending plan

See Full Page