JBC approves technical cemetery cash‑fund fix, debates moving Veterans Trust dollars and tobacco MSA offsets

The Joint Budget Committee approved staff recommendations to address short-term cash‑flow issues for veteran cemeteries and to adjust Colorado State Veterans Trust Fund expenditures to reflect a lower Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) forecast.

JBC staff described an R2 request that would transfer $100,000 from the Colorado State Veterans Trust Fund to the Western Slope veteran cemetery cash fund. Rather than pursue a bill, staff recommended adjusting fund splits in the long bill via a letter note to increase spending authority from the Trust Fund and reduce the Western Slope cash‑fund obligation; legal staff had no objection. The committee adopted the staff approach on a recorded vote.

Members then returned to the broader question of where MSA dollars and other cash funds should be allocated. Catlett explained that staff proposed a technical reduction of about $74,000 to the Trust Fund expenditure forecast to match updated MSA projections. Representative Taggart and others expressed concern about drawing down veterans’ funds: Taggart said he could not support further reductions to the Veterans Trust Fund given growing demand for veteran services and cemetery costs that serve veterans statewide.

Senator Kirkmeyer and other members suggested the committee examine the full distribution of Tobacco MSA dollars and consider whether some settlement revenue could be reallocated to veterans or Veterans Assistance Grants without increasing ongoing general-fund obligations. Kelly Shen (JBC staff) agreed to provide a detailed list of MSA allocations and balances to the committee. The Tobacco MSA technical adjustment and the cemetery-fund long‑bill change both passed by recorded votes.