January 16, 2020

Representation | Legislation | Advocacy

First Energy & Employment Briefing of the Year to Focus on Equal Pay for Equal Work:

Last year, Governor Jared Polis signed the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act into law. The intent of the new law is to help close the gender pay gap in Colorado and ensure that employees with similar job duties are paid the same wage rate regardless of sex, or sex plus another protected status. Unfortunately, there is more than what meets the eye, laying potentially harmful groundwork for business owners. Learn how this may impact you and how to safely navigate this new law.

Presented by Shear Inc.

February 12, 2020 at 12:00 PM
at the DoubleTree by Hilton

Cost is $15 for Chamber members and $20 for Future Chamber Members. To register, click here.

Polis Outlines Agenda for 2020 Session in State of the State Address:

Last week, Governor Jared Polis delivered his second State of the State address, outlining his agenda for the upcoming legislative session. During the 57 minutes speech, Polis covered priorities ranging from the State Public Option, Family Medical Leave and teen vaping, to celebrating the recently announced planned closers of the Tri-State Craig Station and ColoWyo Mine by 2030, effectively killing hundreds of jobs.

For a full recap of the State of the State address, click here.

Chamber Joins Unlock American Investment Coalition:

The Chamber recently joined the Unlock American Investment coalition, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The coalition was formed to support and advance the recent effort to reform and modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The proposed updates to NEPA will improve environmental permitting and reduce delays that hamper the construction of infrastructure projects. The White House Council on Environmental Quality will be taking public comment on the proposal until March 10, 2020.

For more information, click here.

Chamber Opposes Gray Wolf Reintroduction Ballot Initiative:

This morning, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted unanimously to oppose the Gray Wolf Reintroduction Initiative, that will be on the 2020 ballot. This initiative would require the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to create a plan to introduce and manage the gray wolves on lands west of the continental divide. The introduction of gray wolves will have severe consequences on the agricultural industry, which contributes more than $40 billion to the Colorado economy each year, and provides more than 173,000 jobs.

Governmental Affairs Update:

On Tuesday, January 14th, the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee kicked off the 2020 legislative session with the first Legislative Videoconference of the year. The committee received updates from the state capitol from Senator Scott, Senator Coram, Representative Rich and Representative Soper. The committee also took action on the following bills:

Chamber Supports:

HB20-1002 College Credit for Work Experience

Rationale: This bill would allow students and members of the current workforce to earn postsecondary credit for demonstrating competencies gained through work-related experience, such as work-based learning in high school through apprenticeships.

HB20-1003 Rural Jump-start Zone Act Modifications

Rationale: This bill extends the rural jump-start program for an additional 5 years, and enables even more businesses to take advantage of the incentives and benefits offered through the program

SB20-044 Sales and Use Tax Revenue for Transportation

Rationale: This bill would require 10% of the net sales and use tax revenue, to be credited to the highway users tax fund (HUTF), and then allocated for state, county, and municipal highway projects, providing a mechanism for funding transportation projects throughout the state without raising taxes.

If you have a bill you would like the committee to consider, contact darcy@gjchamber.org.

The next legislative video conference will be held on Tuesday, January 28th at 7:00 am, at the Chamber in the FCI Board room. Thank you to videoconference sponsor: Home Loan Insurance.

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