04/02/2008
NFIB/Colorado keeping busy
Your NFIB/Colorado office is keeping busy tracking several pieces of legislation -- some good, some bad -- for small business owners and their employees. As of April 3, 664 bills have been introduced. NFIB/Colorado is currently involved with 75 bills.
United Food Workers Union files ballot titles
The United Food Workers Local 7 have filed five ballot titles in retribution towards a Right to Work title filed previously. The five titles are:
- Requiring Employers to Provide Cost-of-Living Increases
- Increasing the Assessment of Non-Residential Property (Gallagher)
- Prohibit Tax Credits or Subsidies to Companies that Relocate Outside the United States
- Requiring Employers to Maintain Safe and Healthy Workplaces
- Require Employers of 20 or More Employees to Provide Healthcare Coverage
Seasonal worker bill advances to Appropriations committee
HB 1325 establishes a voluntary nonimmigrant agricultural seasonal worker pilot program to expedite the seasonal worker application, approval and recruitment process in compliance with the existing federal H-2A certification process so that eligible workers may come to Colorado legally, safely, and in a timely manner to meet the demands of Colorado agricultural producers. NFIB/Colorado has worked very closely with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Marsha Looper. HB 1325 will be a Key Vote in Support of the bill.
Medical malpractice caps slated for vote
Senate bill 164 expanding medical malpractice caps is slated for a vote in the House Judiciary Committee April 9. The assault on the state's doctors -- raising Colorado's limits on medical malpractice damages by 50 percent -- has been stalled in the House Judiciary Committee for a couple weeks now. There has been much talk but little real movement on the substance of SB 164 in the meantime. The bill's sponsor and committee chairman, Rep. Terrance Carroll, has been talking to the state's medical community about a possible compromise, with no results to date. Indications are the trial lawyers are anxious to get to their real issue of expanding bad faith liability for insurance companies. SB 164 is a Key Vote in Opposition.
NFIB/AARP: Bridging the divide
NFIB and AARP members will have the unique opportunity to attend a free breakfast with AARP CEO Bill Novelli at the Warwick Hotel, May 14, 7:45 a.m. registration, breakfast 8-9 a.m. Novelli’s talk will be on Breaking Down Barriers to Get Things Done. The free breakfast is another effort to engage our membership in the Divided We Fail Campaign, urging our elected officials to continue dialogue concerning true healthcare reform. Please RSVP to Shauna Steingrebe at 303-860-1778.
