State Senate passes budget in Saturday afternoon session

The 2020-21 budget is nearing its conclusion, after the House approved the Long Appropriations Bill, House Bill 1360, on June 3. The Senate followed, passing the $30.3 billion budget on June 6, in a rare Saturday session.

Both northeastern Colorado lawmakers, Republicans Senator Jerry Sonnenberg, Sterling and Representative Rod Pelton, Cheyenne Wells, voted against the bill.

The 2020-21 budget now goes back to the Joint Budget Committee that wrote it, which as a conference committee will resolve differences between the House and Senate version.

The budget resolves a $3.3 billion shortfall in g...