Colorado’s $1.5 billion budget deficit is driving widespread cuts across state services, including reduced reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers and steep income losses for families caring for relatives with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, as those reductions take effect, an automatic pay increase for state lawmakers — triggered by a 2024 change in law — remains scheduled to begin in 2027. When Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1333 on Monday, the measure included a salary increase for legislators. The bill does not reference this pay raise directly, nor is it mentioned in either of the bill’s fiscal analyses. The increased salary, along with higher per diem and mileage rates, is expected to cost approximately $470,000 in the 2026–27 budget. That includes a pay increase on Jan. 1, 2027 of 2.8% for House members and 4.5% for members of the Senate, based on a recommendation from a commission , which never appeared at the legislature to explain it.…