Amid $1.5 Billion Budget Shortfall, Colorado Lawmakers and Statewide Officials Set for Automatic Pay Increases
Why It Matters
Colorado taxpayers are facing a difficult fiscal reality: state lawmakers are cutting public services to close a $1.5 billion budget shortfall, while automatic pay raises for elected officials are set to take effect January 1 without requiring a legislative vote. The pay increases, which affect Colorado’s governor, attorney general, legislators, and other statewide officeholders, will cost an estimated $400,000 in the first full year, according to nonpartisan legislative staff.
The timing has drawn criticism from constituents and caregivers who say government spending priorities appear misaligned at a moment when services for vulnerable Coloradans are being reduced.
What Happened
A law passed in 2024 — House Bill 1059 — created an independent commission tasked with examining and setting salaries for Colorado’s elected officials. The commission released its recommendations in December, concluding that salaries in Colorado are “inadequate considering the significance of the work performed,” and that statewide officers are paid between 14% and 35% below the median salaries of their counterparts in other states.
Using data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and adjusting for Colorado’s cost of labor, the commission recommended raising most statewide salaries to the 25th percentile of peer states — a threshold the panel described as “a competitive rate” given the state’s budget constraints.
Because the increases were established under prior legislation, they will take effect automatically on January 1 unless the current legislature acts to change them. Notably, under the Colorado Constitution, lawmakers cannot vote to alter their own pay mid-term — a provision that insulates the raises from direct reversal by sitting legislators who approved them.
By the Numbers
The commission’s recommendations represent significant salary increases across most offices:
- Attorney General: 45% increase, bringing the salary to $170,000 per year
- State Treasurer: 28% increase
- Secretary of State: 26% increase
- Governor: 11% increase
- State Legislators: 6% increase, raising pay to nearly $51,000 annually
Lawmakers are also eligible for a daily session per diem: lawmakers from outside the Denver metro area can claim an additional $33,000 per session, while Denver-area lawmakers can claim approximately $9,000. Per diems are set at 90% of the federal rate for non-metro members and 25% for metro members.
Zoom Out
Colorado’s situation reflects a broader national debate about public-sector compensation and fiscal discipline. Many states have grappled with how to attract qualified candidates for public office while balancing taxpayer concerns about government spending. Several states have moved toward independent salary commissions similar to Colorado’s model, arguing that removing direct legislative control over pay reduces political conflicts of interest.
However, the optics of automatic pay raises arriving alongside deep service cuts have fueled public frustration. Colorado’s state government has faced separate scrutiny over agency management and spending decisions, adding to the pressure lawmakers face as they work to close the budget gap. Medicaid growth — driven by higher costs, expanded programs, and increased patient utilization — is cited as a primary driver of the shortfall. Proposals on the table include a 2% across-the-board cut to Medicaid providers and the elimination of a 3.5% cost-of-living increase for state workers.
State Rep. Naquetta Ricks, an Aurora Democrat who sponsored the pay commission study, argued the current salary structure favors “people of means and wealth” and that raising pay would open the door for more working-class candidates to seek office. “I think people should get paid what they work for,” Ricks said in public remarks. However, Ricks was reportedly unaware that the commission’s recommendations would take effect automatically without a legislative vote — a detail clarified by nonpartisan staff.
What’s Next
The pay increases are expected to take effect January 1 for officials elected in November, barring any legislative intervention this session. With the budget deadline approaching July 1 and lawmakers focused on closing the $1.5 billion gap, it remains to be seen whether the raises will face any formal challenge. Political dynamics in Colorado are already shifting ahead of the 2026 election cycle, with gubernatorial candidates beginning to position themselves on fiscal issues that include both government spending and public employee compensation.
Residents and advocacy groups representing people with disabilities have raised concerns that cuts to caregiving services signal misplaced priorities, with at least one Colorado parent caregiver telling reporters the timing “feels a little tone deaf.”