The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce has taken positions on 11 bills that are working their way through the Colorado General Assembly.
HB15-1029 Health Care Delivery Via Telemedicine Statewide/Rep. Perry Buck (R-Windsor) and Sen. John Kefalas (D-Fort Collins)
Summary: Current law precludes a health benefit plan provider from requiring in-person care when telemedicine is an appropriate alternative in areas with 150,000 or fewer residents. This bill removes the population restriction of 150,000 and precludes a health benefit plan from requiring in-person care delivery when telemedicine is appropriate, regardless of the geographic location of the health care provider and the recipient of care.
The Chamber supports HB15-1029 because the bill improves access to patients, improves access through the use of technology to health care providers and may result in cost savings to business.
HB15-1139 Review State Rules to Reduce Burden on Small Business/Rep. Terri Carver (R-Colorado Springs)
Summary: The bill requires a state agency to prepare an economic impact statement before adopting any rule that may adversely impact a small business. The bill also changes the definition of small business for the Colorado Administrative Procedures Act to be less than 500 employees or gross annual sales of less than $6 million.
The Chamber supports HB15-1139 because it reduces the administrative burden on small business by considering the impact of new regulations on these firms.
HB15-1170 Increasing Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness/Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp (D-Arvada) and Sen. Owen Hill (R-Colorado Springs)
Summary: The bill adds postsecondary enrollment as a school district performance measure. The department must give each postsecondary enrollment option (including career and technical education programs, community college or four-year institutions of higher education in the school year immediately following graduation) equal weight in calculating performance. The bill additionally creates the position of postsecondary and workforce readiness statewide coordinator, who is responsible to the state work force development council in the department of labor and employment.
The Chamber supports HB15-1170 because it provides closer coordination between workforce needs and education achievement, encouraging all forms of postsecondary education.
HB15-1190 Assistance to Public Schools For Career Pathways/Rep. Joann Windholz (R-Commerce City)
Summary: Expands the duties of the state workforce development council in the department of labor and employment and the department of education to provide additional assistance to public schools and provide technical assistance regarding federal and state programs relating to career and workforce opportunities.
The Chamber supports HB15-1190 because it provides closer coordination between workforce needs and education achievement and would expand the pool of skilled workers available to fill current and future jobs.
HB15-1206 Sales & Use Tax Refund for Recycling Equipment/Rep. Jonathan Singer (D-Longmont)
Summary: For each of the calendar years 2015 through 2019, the bill allows a taxpayer to apply for a refund of any state sales tax or use tax paid for machinery or equipment used directly and primarily in the recycling or reprocessing of waste products. The bill specifies the types of machinery or equipment to which the refund applies and specifies procedures for applying to the department of revenue to receive the refund.
The Chamber supports HB15-1206 because the bill brings the manufacturing incentives for recycling equipment in line with other manufacturing industries in Colorado.
HB15-1157 Working Group for Economic Development In Distressed Regions/Rep. Yeulin Willet (R-Grand Junction) and Sen. Rollie Heath (D-Boulder)
Summary: The bill creates an economic development working group for highly distressed rural and urban regions of the state.
The Chamber supports HB15-1157 because economic development throughout the state strengthens our economy and quality of life.
HB15-1177 Rural Economic Development Initiative Grant Program/Rep. Yeulin Willet (R-Grand Junction) and Sen. Kerry Donovan (D-Vail)
Summary: The bill creates the rural economic development initiative grant program for the purpose of creating resiliency in and growing the economies of highly distressed rural counties.
The Chamber supports HB15-1177 because it supports economic development for areas around the state that may not have benefited from the improved economy.
HB15-1154 No Credit Card Fee On Tax Portion Of Sale/Rep. Jon Becker (R-Fort Morgan) and Sen. Owen Hill (R-Colorado Springs)
Summary: The bill prohibits the collection of an interchange fee, defined as a fee established by a payment card network for the purpose of compensating the issuer of a credit or debit card for its involvement in an electronic payment transaction on the portion of the total price that represents taxes imposed by the state or a local government.
The Chamber opposes HB15-1154 because it creates an additional layer of conflict with federal regulations and imposes additional burdens and cost for anyone doing business in Colorado, which would put Colorado at a competitive disadvantage.
HB15-1163 Contingent Repeal Health Insurance Laws Aligning With ACA/Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt (R-Colorado Springs)
Summary: In 2013, the general assembly enacted House Bill 13-1266 to align state health insurance laws with the requirements of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The bill establishes an automatic repeal of those state health insurance laws if the federal law requirements under the ACA are repealed by congress and approved by the president.
The Chamber opposes HB15-1163 because we recognize the significant investment that health insurance providers have made to align with the state exchange and believes that repeal of the exchange would result in significant cost and uncertainty for these businesses and the business community at large. Likewise, a provision that could trigger automatically precludes consideration of impacts and conditions that would exist in the future.
HB15-1208 Repeal of Common Core Education Standards/Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt (R-Colorado Springs)
Summary: The bill repeals the existing academic standards for English language arts and mathematics and requires the state board to adopt new academic standards in these subjects.
The Chamber opposes HB15-1208. The Chamber has long supported the development of the Colorado Academic Standards and the use of smart assessments in our schools. Repeal of the Colorado standards and assessments will add significant unnecessary cost and delay implementation of the high standards we need for our students. The Colorado Academic Standards were developed by Coloradans, as would any subsequent new academic standards, so the work would be duplicative.
SB15-172 High-performance Transportation Enterprise Accountability/Sen. Matt Jones (D-Louisville) and Rep. Mike Foote (D-Lafayette)
Summary: This bill amends current statutes authorizing public private partnerships (P3s) for transportation projects to include transparency and public engagement practices that CDOT has already adopted and imposes restrictions on contracting for P3s. A similar bill was run in 2014, SB14-197, which the Chamber also opposed and was ultimately vetoed by the governor.
The Chamber opposes SB15-172 because it goes beyond transparency and instead creates a burdensome environment in which Colorado becomes unattractive to partners and investors of public-private partnerships (P3s). This will make Colorado less competitive, which translates into fewer bids received or higher bids, making it challenging to use innovative funding solutions to finance our much-needed infrastructure projects.
Click here to view all the Chamber’s positions this session.
Jennifer Jones is the director of public affairs for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
[Photo by: Ken Lund]