December 12, 2024
Experts:
Legislative Excess in Colorado
Introduction
Colorado’s reputation as an attractive and prosperous state, formed by an agreeable climate, beautiful scenery, has begun to falter. The state’s migration patterns confirm it: from a height of almost 57,000 in 2015, and over 31,000 as recently as 2019, net domestic migration fell to just 7,000 in 2023—fewer people are choosing Colorado now than at any other point in recent memory. As our sun shines just as brightly and our mountains stand just as tall as ever before, policy emerges as a likely reason for the state’s deteriorating image.
Regardless of the substance at fault, part of Colorado’s problem may be simply an excess of policymaking. Around the same time migration cratered, there was a substantial increase in both the number and complexity of bills passed by the state legislature and a corresponding rise in the number of ballot measures. Under both popular mandate and legal obligation to enact even more and more expansive policies, the increase has potential to impact Colorado’s free enterprise system and inhibit the state’s growth.
Key Findings
- The Colorado General Assembly passed record numbers of bills in four of the last six years, including 2024.
- In 2024, the legislature passed 527 bills, which is 33% more than the average between 2012 and 2018.
- The average complexity of passed legislation has increased even faster than the count. 2024 bills were, on average, 51% more complex, as measured by word counts in each year’s Digest of Bills, than those passed between 2012 and 2018.
- The growth of Colorado’s legislative output since 2012 is 69%—3rd-highest in the country.
- The number of statewide ballot questions put before voters, including citizen initiatives and referred measures, quadrupled from 4 to 16 between 2012 and 2024.
- During this period of legislative expansion, the relative performances of Colorado’s education, health, housing, infrastructure, public safety, and state budget have all declined according to CSI’s Free Enterprise Competitiveness Indices.
Each of these trends reflects substantial recent growth in the size of Colorado’s government and its influence on residents. We can already observe how this growth, which shows no sign of slowing in the future, may be impacting comprehensive measures of the state’s performance.
Conclusion
The Colorado legislature, bucking a national trend, has significantly increased its policymaking activity over the last 12 years and especially the last five. Amid tepid population growth and rapid rises in the cost of living, the state government has raised taxes and fees and inflated businesses’ regulatory burdens. The consequences of this pattern are being demonstrated by measures of Colorado’s economic prosperity, which show the state losing ground.
Coloradans could benefit if policymakers took more time to analyze the data and deliberate over the effects of their proposals. There are already examples of policies on crime, taxation, energy, and more that had to be undone after causing problems that legislators failed to consider. In addition to creating better outcomes, this approach would give Coloradans more confidence that their representatives understand the impact of the bills they pass—something that’s all but impossible at the current volume.