The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce announced positions on three bills working their way through the Colorado General Assembly.
SB15-180 Regulatory Reform Act 2015/Sen. Tim Neville (R-Littleton) and Rep. Patrick Neville (R-Castle Rock)
Summary: The bill enacts the “Regulatory Reform Act of 2015,” which acknowledges the difficulty businesses with less than 100 employees (small businesses) have in knowing about and complying with new administrative rules and regulations. The bill allows for small businesses to receive a written warning rather than a fine for a first minor violation and would engage the small business in educational outreach to enable compliance with the new rule.
The Chamber supports SB15-180 because compliance with new rules and regulations can be challenging to small businesses, which typically don’t have the capacity to employ full time regulatory or compliance staff members. This legislation allows employers the opportunity to remedy violations without penalty, saving money for businesses while continuing to protect health and safety.
HB15-1219 Enterprise Zone Investment Tax Credit For Renewable Energy/Rep. Beth McCann (D-Denver) and Sen. Mary Hodge (D-Brighton)
Summary: The bill gives renewable energy companies an option to monetize Enterprise Zone Investment Tax Credits (EZ ITCs) associated with new investment made after Jan. 1. Companies that choose credit monetization would forego 20 percent of the credit value. The company would receive 80 percent of the credit value up to an annual cap of $750,000.
The Chamber supports HB15-1219 because it helps to continue to attract renewable energy investment in Colorado and keeps Colorado competitive with surrounding states. The bill provides an option for investment in renewable energy projects, allowing investors to more quickly obtain the tax incentive benefits in up-front cash available for re-investment.
HB15-1221 Employee Leave Attend Child’s Academic Activities/Rep. John Buckner (D-Aurora) and Sen. Andy Kerr (D-Lakewood)
Summary: The “Parental Involvement in K-12 Education Act,” currently in effect requires an employer that employs at least 50 employees to provide its employees up to six hours per month, and up to 18 hours per academic year, of leave from work to attend a child’s academic activities. This bill expands the types of eligible academic activities and includes preschool children in addition to kindergarten through 12th grade. The act is scheduled to sunset Sept. 15; this bill extends the act indefinitely.
The Chamber opposes HB15-1221. While the Chamber strongly supports parental involvement in education, businesses should be allowed to determine for themselves a personnel policy that works best for their employees and the needs of their business.
HPTE, DRONE BILLS DEFEATED
Last week, SB15-172 was defeated in the Senate Transportation Committee. The Chamber opposed SB15-172 High-performance Transportation Enterprise Accountability because it went beyond transparency and instead would have created a burdensome environment in which Colorado would become unattractive to partners and investors of public-private partnerships (P3s). The passage of this legislation would have made Colorado less competitive, which would have translated into fewer bids received or higher bids, making it challenging to use innovative funding solutions to finance our much-needed infrastructure projects. The Chamber also communicated to the Senate Transportation Committee that transparency is essential. To read the full testimony click here.
This week, SB15-059 Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles was defeated Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would have restricted and added limits to the types of equipment law enforcement can use. The bill also would have created parameters for individual, recreational, civil and industrial use of Unmanned Arial Vehicles. The Chamber opposed SB15-059 due to industry concerns that privacy rights are already addressed through existing statutes. We were concerned that the bill was not aligned with existing Federal Aviation Administration regulations and would put unrealistic restrictions on potential law enforcement use.
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]