DENVER — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper was quick to shift back to issues concerning the state ahead of the start of the General Assembly session, slated for Wednesday morning.

Top of mind is the state budget. The governor has said that unless something is addressed with the hospital provider fee, more than $300 million in cuts facing everything from education to transportation could take place.

The governor wants to shift the state’s hospital provider fee out of TABOR and into a new enterprise fund. While that means less money would come back to taxpayers, it would mean more money for state officials to allocate to education and roads.

Republicans said the governor cannot change where the hospital provider fee goes and presented a legal document Tuesday.

“The attorneys downstairs … we are not sure if they have all the facts,” Hickenlooper said in response.

Other topics discussed during the governor’s 45-minute news conference included ballot initiatives to change beer laws in grocery stores and to ban fracking across the state.

“I don’t think the voters in Colorado are going to vote for them,” Hickenlooper said.

In terms of marijuana legislation, the governor expressed optimism that a deal could be reached to allow legal marijuana businesses to safely put their money in financial institutions.

“It’s a terrible idea to have people with bags and suitcases full of cash,” Hickenlooper said.

As far as the biggest controversy in Denver right now — who should be the Broncos starting quarterback — Hickenlooper is all for Peyton Manning.

“Give him the ball let him go out there and see what he can do,” Hickenlooper said.