SB 25-244
Fiscal Note
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
SB 25-244: REDUCE STATE FUNDING ASSISTANT DA SALARIES
Prime Sponsors:
Sen. Amabile; Kirkmeyer
Rep. Sirota; Taggart
Published for: Senate Appropriations
Drafting number: LLS 25-0891
Fiscal Analyst:
Clayton Mayfield, 303-866-5851
clayton.mayfield@coleg.gov
Version: Initial Fiscal Note
Date: March 31, 2025
Fiscal note status: The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill, which was recommended by the Joint
Budget Committee as part of the FY 2025-26 Long Bill budget package.
Summary Information
Overview. The bill reduces the state contribution to assistant district attorney salaries that takes effect
July 1, 2026.
Types of impacts. The bill is projected to affect the following areas starting in FY 2026-27:
State Expenditures Local Government
Appropriations. No appropriation is required.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts
Type of Impact
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
State Revenue $0 $0
State Expenditures (General Fund) $0 -$1,181,712
Transferred Funds $0 $0
Change in TABOR Refunds $0 $0
Change in State FTE 0.0 FTE 0.0 FTE
Page 2
March 31, 2025 SB 25-244
Summary of Legislation
Senate Bill 24-013 required the salary of all assistant district attorneys (ADA) to be at least that
of a full-time county court judge and required the state to pay 50 percent of this minimum
amount, effective July 1, 2026. Additionally, for any ADAs participating in the Public Employees’
Retirement Association (PERA) system, SB 24-013 made the state responsible for PERA
contributions on behalf of ADAs.
The bill makes the state share of these salaries 25 percent.
Assumptions
Generally, there is one ADA who serves as the second in command for each district attorney’s
office; therefore, the fiscal note assumes there are 23 ADA salaries with a portion coverable by
the state.
The fiscal note estimates the salary of a county court judge will be $199,876 on July 1, 2026. This
is based on two factors: the $195,001 county court judge salary recommended in the FY 2025-26
figure setting document for the Judicial Department, which is about a 2.5 percent increase to the
FY 2024-25 salary, and an assumption that a similar salary increase will occur for FY 2026-27.
State Expenditures
The bill is estimated to decrease state expenditures by about $1.2 million in FY 2026-27, and by
increasing amounts in future years as county court judge salaries increase. Using the assumed
FY 2026-27 salary of $199,876, the state would be required to cover 50 percent, or $99,938, of
this amount under current law. Under the bill, the state is required to cover 25 percent, or
$49,969, of this amount. This results in a reduction in state expenditures for FY 2026-27 of about
$1.2 million as shown in Table 2.
Table 2
State Share of ADA Salaries Effective July 1, 2026
Scenario
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Current Law – State Share of ADA Salary Costs $0 $2,298,574
Current Law – PERA Contribution for State Share $0 $64,850
Under Bill – State Share of ADA Salary Costs $0 $1,149,287
Under Bill – PERA Contribution for State Share $0 $32,425
Total Expenditure Reduction $0 $1,181,712 Page 3
March 31, 2025 SB 25-244
Local Government
Relative to current law, the bill increases county costs for each judicial district. This results from
decreasing the state share of the minimum ADA salary that will become effective July 1, 2026.
The increase per judicial district will be about $50,000 based on information in the State
Expenditures section. Each judicial district is funded proportionately by any counties that
comprise the judicial district, so the exact increase to a particular county will vary by judicial
district.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming
no referendum petition is filed.
State and Local Government Contacts
Joint Budget Committee Staff Law
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit the General Assembly website.