Stimulus Bills Piling Up on Legislators’ Desks

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From upskilling workers to increasing affordable housing to creating jobs in rural areas, legislators are considering a slew of bills that would provide a one-time shot of economic relief. The bills are part of an $800 million stimulus package that is funded through unexpectedly high tax revenues for the state.

Below are examples of legislation that have been introduced and that the Chamber has supported.

Jobs

  • A $25 million program to help reskill, upskill and next-skill workers when the state as a whole or a specific geographic region or demographic group experiences an unemployment rate of 4% or higher. (House Bill 1264)
  • $15 million for the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative’s Displaced Workers Grant, which is estimated to serve at least 3,000 displaced Colorado workers across the state, as well as help institutions of higher education scale high-demand programs. (Senate Bill 232)
  • New grant programs to increase capacity for early childhood care and education, encourage employer-based child care facilities, and improve recruitment and retention rates and salaries for early childhood educators. (Senate Bill 236)

Small Business

  • A new Small Business Accelerated Growth Program under the Colorado Office of Economic Development to provide business development support to organizations with fewer than 20 employees. (Senate Bill 241)

Housing

  • $13 million of assistance to local governments that want to create more affordable housing strategies in their communities. (House Bill 1271)

Rural Areas

  • $5 million for the Rural Economic Development Initiative Grant Program to create diversity and resiliency in rural economies. (Senate Bill 204)
  • $3 million to the Rural Jump Start Grant Program to help economically distressed communities – particularly those affected by the energy market’s transition away from coal to more renewable energy sources – attract new businesses and jobs. (Senate Bill 229)

Industry Support

  • $3.5 million in funding to support agricultural events organizations, including the Colorado State Fair and National Western Stock Show. (House Bill 1262)
  • $2.5 million to the Colorado Proud program to help Colorado food and agricultural producers increase sales globally and support Colorado food systems. (Senate Bill 203)
  • The creation of a Meeting and Events Incentive Program to help attract events and visitors to the state after the pandemic. (House Bill 1263)

Eliminating Tax Credits Works Against Stimulus Support

The Chamber supports these stimulus bills and efforts to put Coloradans back to work and help our state recover. However, it doesn’t make sense to distribute millions of dollars of stimulus support to businesses on the one hand, while on the other hand eliminating critical tax credits upon which those same businesses rely. Some lawmakers are considering proposals to eliminate certain business tax credits, which only undermines the impact of stimulus support to businesses and their employees. We are working with other chambers and associations to talk with legislative leadership about these concerns and will keep you posted on those efforts.

Lawmakers Reject PERA Investment Bill

We celebrated another win at the Capitol this week when the House Finance Committee voted down House Bill 1246. This bill would have required the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) board to create an exclusion list of all fossil fuel companies in which PERA invests and divest from any company that doesn’t comply with the board’s fiduciary obligations.

“For us, this bill isn’t about climate change. This bill is about the legislature overruling investment decisions made by PERA’s team of financial experts and informed by PERA’s own investors,” testified Laura Giocomo Rizzo, the Chamber’s senior vice president of external affairs. “We recognize the many challenges PERA faces with its unfunded liability, and this bill challenges PERA further by taking investment choices out of the hands of PERA investment experts and putting them into the hands of the legislature.”

The Committee postponed the bill indefinitely with an 8-2 vote. Read Giocomo Rizzo’s full testimony.

Chamber Takes Positions on Two Bills

The Chamber took a position of support on two bills this week.

Visit our current legislation page to see all our positions and testimony so far this session.