05/15/2008
At 9:30 p.m. on May 6, the Colorado General Assembly concluded their session. With the conclusion came farewells for 15 legislators forced out by term limits. Among the most notable of those leaving are Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, House Business Affairs Chair Rosemary Marshall and small business advocate Cheri Jahn. In the Senate, we say good-bye to Majority Leader Ken Gordon and Minority Leader Andy McElhany, along with Sens. Jack Taylor and Bob Hagedorn.
This final session saw 798 bills introduced. Of that number, 46 late bills came within 15 days of the end of the session.
Bills helpful to small business include:
- HB 1225, raising the exemption on the business personal property tax. The bill, once signed by the governor, will raise the exemption to $7,000 in the third year. The bill sponsor, Rep. Joe Rice, has assured NFIB members that this is the first step in an attempt to dismantle the BPPT.
- HB 1189 by Rep. Riesberg prohibits strikes by state employees. HB 1189, while viewed as a watered-down version of a stronger HB 1187 by Rep. Bob Gardner which was lost in committee, was in reaction to the Executive Order issued by Gov. Bill Ritter allowing state employees the right to collectively bargain for wage and benefits.
- A key vote bill for NFIB/Colorado was HB 1393 by Rep. Amy Stephens, Colorado Springs. HB 1393 will aid consumers and purchasers of healthcare services easier access to pricing information from hospitals. HB 1393 directs the Division of Insurance to maintain a Web site for consumers showing the normal charges for the 25 most utilized services and treatments of each hospital. NFIB believes that when consumers have more information pertaining to cost and outcomes of medical care they will make better buying decisions.
Some less than flattering bills this session were led by SB 164. This bill would have raised the non-economic damages caps and created a new category of damages for disfigurement. SB 164 would have increased the cost of healthcare, putting even more of a burden on Colorado's healthcare industry and small businesses. NFIB/Colorado assisted the Colorado Civil Justice league in putting pressure on the bill's sponsor to allow his own bill to die in committee.
HB 1170, concerning electricians' apprentice ratios, was highly opposed by NFIB and other building trades groups. This bill would have required a one-to-one ratio of apprentice to journeyman. The section concerning the ratio was stricken from the bill, but a continuing education requirement left in the bill makes this bill unacceptable. There continues to be a critical shortage of electricians and the Legislature should be working on solutions to address this shortage.
