(1) For the purpose of closing the state's books, and subject to the provisions of this section, the controller may, on or after May 1 of any fiscal year and before the forty-fifth day after the close thereof, upon approval of the governor, allow any department, institution, or agency of the state, including any institution of higher education, to make an expenditure in excess of the amount authorized by an item of appropriation for such fiscal year if:
The overexpenditure is for medicaid programs; or
The overexpenditure is by the department of health care policy and financing forthe children's basic health plan established pursuant to article 8 of title 25.5, C.R.S.; except that, to the extent that the overexpenditure allowed pursuant to this paragraph (a.5) is from the general fund, the overexpenditure from the general fund shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars in any fiscal year; or
The overexpenditure is by the department of health care policy and financing forthe required state contribution payment pursuant to the federal "Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003", Pub.L. 108-173; or
The overexpenditure is by the department of human services for any purpose otherthan medicaid programs, but the total of all overexpenditures allowed pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall not exceed one million dollars in any fiscal year; or
The overexpenditure is for any purpose of a department, institution, or agency of theexecutive branch other than the department of human services, but the total of all overexpenditures allowed pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall not exceed three million dollars in any fiscal year; or
The overexpenditure is for the workers' compensation self-insurance program ofthe department of human services established pursuant to section 8-44-203, C.R.S.; or
The overexpenditure is for any purpose of the judicial department, but overexpenditures allowed pursuant to this paragraph (d) shall be subject to the limitation in section 24-75-110; or
The overexpenditure is by the department of corrections for the purchase of pharmaceuticals and the purchase of medical services from other medical facilities as part of the medical services subprogram for department institutions. The overexpenditure authorized by this paragraph (e) shall only be allowed for the 2001-02 fiscal year.
(1.5) For the purposes of this section, an overexpenditure includes any instance in which the total expenditures charged to a specific line item of appropriation are in excess of the total spending authority appropriated for that line item and any instance in which sufficient cash or cash-exempt reserves have not been earned to cover related expenditures and there is no statutory fund balance to cover such expenditures.
(2) Overexpenditures allowed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be subject to the following requirements:
Except as specifically provided in this section, overexpenditures shall be consistentwith all statutory provisions applicable to the program, function, or purpose for which the overexpenditure is made, including the provisions of appropriation acts.
No overexpenditure shall be allowed in excess of the unencumbered balance of thefund from which the overexpenditure is made as of the date of the expenditure.
For fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2014, no overexpenditure is allowedunder paragraph (a) or (a.5) of subsection (1) of this section for any appropriation in the annual general appropriation act to the department of health care policy and financing that is in a line item for the executive director's office or in a line item that the general assembly has labeled as ineligible for an overexpenditure under said paragraphs.
For any overexpenditure, whether or not allowed by the controller in accordance withsubsection (1) of this section, the controller shall restrict, in an amount equal to said overexpenditure, the corresponding item or items of appropriation that are made in the general appropriation act for the fiscal year following the fiscal year for which the overexpenditure that is allowed occurs. For the purposes of determining such corresponding item or items of appropriation, the controller shall consider, in order of importance, the fund from which the overexpenditure was allowed, the department, institution, or agency that was allowed to make the overexpenditure, and the purpose for which the overexpenditure was allowed. The department, institution, or agency shall not be allowed to expend any amount restricted pursuant to this subsection (3) unless such restriction is released in accordance with subsection (4) of this section.
(a) The department, institution, or agency whose appropriation is restricted may request a supplemental appropriation for the fiscal year in which the overexpenditure occurred for the amount of any overexpenditure allowed pursuant to this section. If a supplemental appropriation is enacted for the overexpenditure or some portion thereof, the restriction on the succeeding fiscal year's appropriation shall be released in the amount of the supplemental appropriation enacted.
(b) If the amount of the restriction imposed pursuant to subsection (3) of this section was based on an estimate of the amount of the overexpenditure and the amount of such restriction exceeds the actual amount of the overexpenditure, the controller shall release that portion of the restricted amount that exceeds the actual amount of the overexpenditure.
The limitation on general fund appropriations and the requirement for a general fundreserve contained in section 24-75-201.1 shall not apply to overexpenditures from the general fund for medicaid programs allowed pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section or to supplemental general fund appropriations for medicaid programs enacted pursuant to subsection (4) of this section. Overexpenditures for all other purposes allowed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and supplemental general fund appropriations for all other purposes enacted pursuant to subsection (4) of this section shall be considered appropriations for the fiscal year in which the overexpenditure was allowed and shall accordingly be subject to the limitations and requirements of section 24-75-201.1.
The controller may allow overexpenditures pursuant to this section only for the fiscalyears beginning on or after July 1, 1998, but prior to July 1, 2025. This section is repealed, effective September 1, 2025.
Source: L. 87: Entire section added, p. 1105, § 1, effective July 1. L. 89: Entire section
RC&RE, p. 1096, § 5, effective May 16. L. 91: Entire section amended, p. 850, § 5, effective April 27. L. 94: (6) amended, p. 1460, § 6, effective May 25; (1)(b), (1)(c), and (1)(c.5) amended, p. 2700, § 251, effective July 1. L. 99: (1.5) added and (6) amended, p. 697, § 6, effective May 19. L. 2002: (4) amended, p. 385, § 1, effective April 30; (1)(d) amended and
(1)(e) added, p. 684, § 1, effective May 28. L. 2004: (3) and (6) amended, p. 1521, § 6, effective May 28. L. 2008: (1)(a.5) added, p. 459, § 1, effective April 14. L. 2009: (1)(a.6) added and (6) amended, (HB 09-1222), ch. 231, p. 1064, §§ 6, 7, effective May 4. L. 2010: (1)(a.6) amended, (HB 10-1422), ch. 419, p. 2088, § 80, effective August 11; (1)(c) amended, (HB 10-1119), ch. 340, p. 1575, § 11, effective August 11. L. 2014: (2)(c) added and (6) amended, (HB 14-1308), ch. 123, p. 440, § 5, effective April 18. L. 2020: (6) amended, (HB 20-1426), ch. 306, p. 1559, § 9, effective July 14.
Editor's note: Prior to the recreation of this section in 1989, subsection (5) provided for the repeal of this section, effective July 1, 1988. (See L. 87, p. 1105.)
Cross references: In 2010, subsection (1)(c) was amended by the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act". For the short title, see section 1 of chapter 340, Session Laws of Colorado 2010.