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In a tense and, at times, dramatic special session, lawmakers pushed through bills to tackle a billion-dollar budget hole, SNAP cuts, and more.

During the special session, the legislature passed a bill ceding the responsibility of cutting the budget to the governor’s office.

Democrats at the Capitol also pushed back the start date of Colorado’s first-in-the-nation AI law, shored up subsidies on health insurance and tweaked a pair of measures on the November ballot.

The moves comes after the Berthoud Republican abruptly resigned from the state legislature last week in an apparent attempt to avoid a censure.

The move came after a deal between consumer advocates, the tech industry and others on how to move forward on the measure fell apart.

Two bills passed in Colorado’s special session aim to safeguard safety-net programs. One boosts state funding for SNAP food assistance, the other guarantees Medicaid coverage at Planned Parenthood clinics.

If the agreement holds, it would end nearly two years of negotiations on how to try to prevent AI from harming people when they do things like apply for jobs, seek out loans and pursue a college degree.

Lawmakers say some special sessions feel more "special," or necessary, than others.

The extraordinary changes to the Senate Appropriations Committee give Democrats a 5-2 advantage on the panel, whereas before they had a 4-3 majority. Democratic state Sen. Jeff Bridges was removed from the committee.

Gov. Polis implemented a hiring freeze for state agencies in response to the billion-dollar revenue loss for Colorado created by Congressional Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. But workers are concerned the freeze will make their jobs even harder.