Bill Ritter Announces Cuts To Education, Asks For New Revenue Streams

Governor Ritter announced Friday his budget proposal for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, which includes $260 million in cuts to K-12 education funding, and will suggest shutting down tax loopholes to increase revenue. In total,

The Denver Post reports:

Because so many of the state's budget-balancing actions to deal with the more than $2 billion shortfall over the past two years have involved one-time funding sources -- such as draining cash funds and using federal stimulus money -- the state faces what is expected to be a $1.3 billion shortfall in the 2010-11 budget year.

That figure doesn't take into account expected increases in the Medicaid case load and other costs that could make the shortfall larger.

In addition to the $260 Million--or 4.6%--in cuts from K-12 education, other general fund cuts include $28 million from Medicaid. 25,000 state employees will also see a one-time pay cut totaling $20.1 million.

The state will also close several tax loopholes that amount to $131 Million. The largest loophole being closed is an exemption on sales taxes for the purchase of energy used in manufacturing. In the Denver Post, Republican State Senator Kent Lambert suggested that closing these loopholes without voter approval is unconstitutional.

In an interview with the Huffington Post this week, the Governor's Chief of Staff said that "the pain, if you will, or the sacrifice is really shared and it will be spread around a number of areas."

Read the Governor's announcement below: