Last week marked the halfway point of the legislative session—the unofficial signal that legislators will start to focus on the state budget. This Friday state economists will share the budget forecast, and we anticipate that whether or not to create a hospital provider fee enterprise fund, a position the Chamber has strongly supported, will be at the center of the discussion.
During the last budget forecast in December, economists noted that the anticipated $373 million shortfall had shrunk by about $135 million, reducing the shortfall to $238 million. The governor has alluded that as a result cuts could be made to higher education and health care. It’s a unique challenge that has been created because of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) and how we calculate our state revenue. Dollars being collected from hospitals to receive a federal match for health care costs have been incorrectly counted as revenue and have artificially inflated how much money the state is bringing in. So, while we may receive refunds because we’ve hit TABOR revenue caps, we’ll still have to make cuts to our budget.
The Chamber continues to advocate for creating a hospital provider fee enterprise fund because it corrects a prior accounting error and would eliminate the shortfall—and the need for any budget cuts—while ensuring we can continue to fund education and transportation. Making this decision costs us nothing, but inaction from our legislators could cost much more for our future. Click here to learn more or to join the Chamber in supporting a hospital provider fee enterprise.
Keeping Colorado Open for Business
Yesterday the Chamber spoke on behalf of business leaders at a press conference and at the Capitol to oppose House Bill 1180, which says that no state action can burden a person’s right to exercise religion.
The bill failed to pass out of the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee. The Chamber was pleased to see this bill did not advance.
Just last session the Chamber opposed two similar bills because they can be used to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. Other states have put this kind of legislation in place with major impacts to their economies. In Indiana the passage of the bill was met with major objections from business, and one study estimated as much as $60 million in hotel profits, tax revenue and other economic benefits were lost.
The Chamber has again taken this position in opposition because our focus is to attract and retain top people with the greatest talent, skills and ideas. We feel this bill would undermine how we recruit talented people and companies to Colorado.
“Our state is better than laws designed to discriminate, and we will never support legislation that creates an intolerant, anti-business environment,” Chamber President and CEO Kelly Brough during the press conference. “The bottom line is that Colorado is open for business to all, regardless of who you are, how you worship or who you love.”
Smart Updates for Business Partners
This week the Chamber supported a series of bills aimed at updating partnership agreements among business owners. They will clarify important issues:
- Requiring all partners to consent to transferring a business to a new partner
- Using the same rules for oral agreements among LLC partners as for other businesses
- Correcting filings with the Secretary of State’s office done in error
- Creating oral operating agreements among partners
These are common-sense updates that will benefit business partnerships—particularly for small businesses.
Defending Strong, Statewide Regulations
The Chamber continues to weigh in on measures that impact the energy industry. In particular, Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Mizraim Cordero testified in opposition to House Bill 1310, which creates a presumption of guilt that oil and gas activities are inherently harmful and cause damage.
Although the bill passed out of the House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee, the Chamber continues to voice its opposition to this bill because it could set a precedent of targeting individual industries, especially when Colorado is looked to as a national and international model for strong, responsible regulations around oil and gas development. The Chamber also opposed House Bill 1355 this week because of those strong statewide standards. The bill would create a patchwork of regulation, and we feel that because this business stretches across a variety of municipalities and counties, it is an issue of statewide importance.
The Chamber is taking positions on bills weekly during the legislative session. Click here to see all the bills the Chamber has taken positions on this session.