It’s been an eerily hazy week across Colorado as wildfires burn on the Western Slope and smoke lingers statewide. The picture is just as unclear for state finances, with a special legislative session set for August 21 to address a major budget gap. On this week’s Colorado Inside Out, our panel digs into the wildfire crisis, the $1B budget shortfall, Denver’s largest set of city projects headed to voters in November, and Governor Polis’ newly approved plan to block SNAP purchases of sugary drinks.

Wildfires, Drought, and Climate Challenges: Colorado’s Western Slope is facing worsening drought and extreme heat, fueling a severe wildfire season. Red Flag Warnings are in place, evacuation orders are active for communities near fire lines in Rio Blanco and Delta counties, and air quality advisories cover the entire state. The Colorado National Guard is assisting firefighting teams, and long-term Colorado River concerns remain.

• Chris Rourke, Consultant: “The Western Slope and the Colorado River Basin has been in a drought since 2000. That’s 25 years. We can argue all day long about the cause. Is it climate change? Is it climate cycling? But the fact is… things are drier, there’s a lack of moisture and there are higher temperatures.”
• Carlos Martinez, President & CEO, Latino Community Foundation of Colorado: “Colorado has seen a 2.5 degrees in temperatures increase in the past 40 years. We also have more folks who are living in wildlife areas. I think I saw that one out of four homes are in areas that are at risk of wildfire.”
• Patty Calhoun, Editor, Westword: “It is another frightening summer here, and adding to the frightening level is will the federal cutbacks in the Forest Service affect how we’re able to fight these fires. One ray of sunshine is at least that following some of the NOAA cuts, employees are coming back, at least for a while. We need these forecasters when you look at fire and when you look at floods.”
• Marianne Goodland, Legislative Reporter, Colorado Politics: Notes that earlier this week, every member of the Colorado congressional delegation wrote a letter to the Trump Administration to release the $140 million in frozen funds for Colorado River water projects: “Some of that money could conceivably help with some of these drought conditions.. and conservation efforts. The other the other issue, of course, is the long term health of the Colorado River… which is tied to ongoing water rights negotiations.”

$1B State Budget Hole, Special Session & Hiring Freeze: Governor Jared Polis has called lawmakers back to work on August 21 for a special session to address a massive $1 billion revenue shortfall. Newer figures indicate a $783 million hole that lawmakers have to fill, which equates to loss of revenue, not spending.

• Marianne Goodland: “The intention right now is to tap the state’s general fund reserve, which is our ‘rainy day’ fund. It basically will cover about half of that ($783M). They don’t want to use more than that because they need to save that money in case there’s a recession. And the risk of recession has grown and doubled in the last year. The only thing that the Governor drew a line in the sand about was education. He said we won’t tap education to cover the shortfall.”
• Chris Rourke: “They’re also looking at a law that was passed that would go into effect in February regarding regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI). The intent of the legislation was to prevent discrimination by AI, but it puts the burden on small businesses to comply with regulation…. Some businesses are reportedly hesitant to relocate to Colorado due to this draconian AI bill, potentially contributing to the state’s revenue shortfall.”
• Carlos Martinez: “I’m afraid of is if we have this bill today, another one tomorrow, we just then start addressing this AI situation through various different bills. I’d rather see special committee really look at AI and study AI and create a comprehensive plan for Colorado of how we approach AI here in the state and make it work for everyone.”

Other statewide news: Governor Polis’ decision to implement a hiring freeze for state positions continues through the end of the calendar year, with carve outs for firefighters, anyone involved in public safety, and 24-7 operations.

Denver’s $1 Billion Projects Proposal Goes to Voters in November: The Denver City Council is sending the city’s largest package in history to voters, split into five categories: transportation, infrastructure, parks, housing, and health services. Our Insiders agree that successful bond campaigns require voters to know how the money is going to be spent, and the current plan is too vague. They expect the transportation funding measure to pass but question the fate of the others.

• Marianne Goodland: “The city is $250 million in the red. They’re about to announce layoffs. And I think one of the questions that people have to ask is as they’re watching these layoffs take place and the potential impact on city services, are voters going to want to be putting money into all of these different projects?”
• Carlos Martinez: Questions voter trust over where money is going: “Sometimes it’s like ‘why are we spending money on things that are not really brining value to our communities?’ … you know, those roundabouts that you see in communities where the fire engines can’t even get through them? We’ve been taxed on the garbage. We’ve been taxed now on sidewalks. It’s like, what other things are you taking away from the mill levy that we pay for with our property taxes. There will be no increase with the mill levy. But it doesn’t mean that your property value won’t go up.”
• Patty Calhoun: Predicts: “The county and the city’s debt will definitely go up.”

Governor Polis’ Plan Approved to Forbid SNAP to Pay for Sugary Drinks: Colorado received federal approval from the Department of Agriculture to keep those with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds from using that money to purchase sugary drinks, sparking a debate on government intervention and public health. Even though Colorado is among the healthiest states, the Governor points to a 24.9% obesity rate as still too high.

• Carlos Martinez: “I’m actually in favor of it because we consume a lot of sugar as a society. But I think we need to do it along with an educational campaign. It just can’t be just banning it for the sake of banning.”
• Marianne Goodland: “There used to be a program called SNAP Ed that was supposed to help people learn about making nutritious choices. And guess what happened to SNAP Ed in the Big Beautiful Bill? It’s gone. So, I it would be wonderful if there was an educational campaign but the federal government is not going to pay for that right now, and the state doesn’t have the money for it.”
• Patty Calhoun: Does not like excessive “big brother action” and questions where government intervention stops; Chris Rourke, insists that people “have the right to make their own choice.”

Community Note: Thank you to Patty Calhoun, who has been a part of Colorado Inside Out for over three decades, for encouraging her readers to support multiple local media outlets — and for pledging half of the proceeds from new Westword memberships during this week’s drive to PBS12. The more media we have, the healthier and more informed our community is.