Gov. Bill Ritter submitted  an additional $340 million in proposed cuts and anticipated savings to the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee today in order to balance next year’s budget.

“This is a common-sense, fair, thoughtful and balanced plan to balance the budget,” said Ritter, speaking to members of the press gathered in his office this morning.

Most of the savings itemized in the proposal stem from anticipated federal money as well as reduced caseloads in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Plan Plus program while avoiding cuts to higher education or further cuts to K-12 education. Smaller adjustments include the transfer of prisoners to lower-cost facilities, eliminating some scholarships, a $900,000 cut in spending for a prison boot camp, and tapping into cash funds. An additional $15 million in revenue is anticipated to be generated by stepped up tax compliance programs in the Department of Revenue.

Ritter pledged to make every effort to protect public safety, protect the safety net for those in need, and to maintain programs that promote job creation and economic recovery.

“It will take all of us working together to make these difficult decisions and to keep positioning Colorado for a strong, stable, and sustainable economic recovery,” said Ritter.

Minority Republicans who have suggested across-the-board cuts to government bureaucracy as a more prudent path to balancing the budget took issue with the governor’s proposal.

“More than half of the proposed budget balancing was put on the federal government’s credit card, and a good portion of the rest of the measures are either gimmicks, cash transfers, or accounting misdirection all of which only result in pushing the really tough choices to next year,” said Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, of Grand Junction.

Assistant Minority Leader Greg Brophy of Wray responded to the governor’s proposal with questions.

“Is the governor really saying that the only place left to cut in state government is prison beds, prison boot camps and college scholarships? Is the bureaucracy off-limits to the party in power? What part of across-the-board cuts isn’t clear to the party in power?” asked Brophy in a prepared GOP response.

The governor’s proposal will be taken under consideration by the Joint Budget Committee as it begins to formulate a 2010-11 budget for the governor to sign.