Concerning the calculation of the consumer price index for the 2025 calendar year, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.
House Bill 26-1364 creates a one-year rule for how Colorado calculates the consumer price index (CPI) for the 2025 calendar year. Instead of using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ usual annual average of monthly CPI figures, the bill directs that the 2025 CPI be determined by averaging the two semi-annual BLS CPI reports for 2025. The stated purpose is to give equal weight to the first and second halves of the year, rather than overweighting the first half because October 2025 was not included in the annual calculation method described in the bill summary.
The bill applies this 2025 CPI calculation to a long list of existing Colorado statutes across many titles of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Those statutes cover areas such as taxation, insurance, labor and employment, education, courts and civil remedies, local government, transportation, utilities, natural resources, housing, and public health. By changing the CPI reference point for 2025, the bill affects how inflation-indexed amounts, thresholds, fees, caps, and other statutory adjustments are calculated for 2025 comparisons and, in some cases, for 2026 comparisons to 2025.
In addition to the CPI adjustment, the bill includes an appropriation for the Department of Education for fiscal year 2026-27. The appropriation modifies several education line items, including school finance administration, financial transparency system maintenance, school finance audit payments, state share of district program funding, extended high school, reimbursements for juveniles held in jail, at-risk supplemental aid, and a contingency reserve fund. The appropriation is tied to funding sources such as the State Education Fund, the State Public School Fund, and the General Fund Exempt Account, and it includes a footnote clarifying the amount available for the Teacher Recruitment Education and Preparation (TREP) Program.
The overall sentiment appears neutral to supportive, with the bill advancing through the appropriations process and ultimately being signed by the governor. Because the bill is largely technical and fiscal in nature, there is no recorded committee debate or vote history in the provided materials showing significant opposition. The measure appears designed to correct or standardize an inflation-calculation issue for 2025 and to align related appropriations with that adjustment.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or vote history, but the main policy issue implicit in the bill is the choice of methodology for calculating 2025 inflation. The bill’s approach favors equal weighting of the two semi-annual CPI reports, which may affect the size of inflation adjustments in statutes that rely on CPI. Any disagreement would likely center on whether this method more accurately reflects inflation for the year and how it may change funding, fee, or benefit calculations across affected programs and parties.
The bill adds a new article to Title 24 directing that, for 2025 only, Colorado’s CPI be calculated by averaging the two semi-annual BLS CPI reports for the relevant region. It expressly overrides contrary law for the purpose of comparing 2025 to 2024 and 2026 to 2025, and it applies that rule to numerous CPI-linked provisions across the Colorado Revised Statutes. The bill also makes a contingent appropriation to the Department of Education for FY 2026-27, adjusting several school finance and related line items and specifying funding sources and a TREP Program footnote.
The available record suggests the bill was treated as a technical fiscal measure rather than a controversial policy proposal. It moved through appropriations, was amended on second reading in the House, and was ultimately signed by the governor. No committee transcript or vote data in the provided materials indicates organized opposition or a divided debate.
The central substantive issue is the method used to calculate the 2025 CPI. The bill rejects the ordinary annual averaging method described in the bill summary and instead uses the average of two semi-annual reports, which could change inflation-adjusted amounts in many statutes. Any concern would likely come from stakeholders affected by those indexed amounts—such as taxpayers, regulated industries, local governments, school finance interests, or recipients of inflation-linked benefits—depending on whether the revised calculation increases or decreases statutory adjustments.