By Senator Don Coram
As I begin my 11th year in the Colorado General Assembly and look forward to 2021, I wonder what to expect.
After 2020, the only thing certain is uncertainty. Last year started out as any other, then along came the coronavirus, or what is now referred to as COVID-19. We went into recess and worked from home along with most state agencies and much of the private sector.
When we returned, a 25% reduction in revenues had led to a $3.3 billion-dollar shortfall. This resulted in massive cuts and programs lost funding. The federal government provided stimulus funds to help the state. Due to the fact the General Assembly was not in session, these funds were allocated by the governor, who was operating under emergency executive orders. I, along with most elected officials from rural Colorado, felt that we were underfunded in comparison to the five big counties with populations of 500,000 or more that received direct disbursement from the federal government.
Read the rest of the editorial in the Durango Herald.