February 13, 2020

Representation | Legislation | Advocacy

Chamber Testifies in Support of NEPA Reform

On Tuesday, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce testified in support of the proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act. The proposed updates to NEPA will improve environmental permitting and reduce delays that hamper the construction of infrastructure projects. On average, environmental impact statements for Federal highway projects have taken over seven years to complete, significantly impeding the development of necessary infrastructure in communities across the nation.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality will be taking public comment on the proposal until March 10, 2020.

For more information on submitting comments click here.

Will You Win the War for Talent?:

There are 74 million people in the Baby Boomer generation and they are retiring at the rate of 10,000 employees per day.

The generations coming after those Boomers can’t replace all of them and that means that there are simply not enough people to fill the open jobs in America. Employers will need to become “employers of choice” in the future and there is no doubt there will be winners and losers in this “War for Talent”.

The Grand Junction Chamber and the Mesa County Workforce Center are teaming up to bring this seminar led by Chris Czarnik, author of Winning the War for Talent, which will take participants through a step by step process to becoming AND staying a place that talented people want to go to work.

Tuesday, February 18th, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Mesa County Workforce Center
Cost is $99 for two representatives from a company to attend

To register click here, or call 970-242-3214.

Changes Made to Paid Family Leave Proposal

Sponsors of the upcoming paid family leave bill have reluctantly made several changes to their original proposal of a state-run insurance program. The bill will still require that all employers provide paid family leave to their employees, but will now give employers the option to do so through a private insurance plan. Sponsors also made changes to whom, employers are required to provide paid family and medical leave, from all workers to employees who have held the job for six months. The bill is expected to drop this month.

For more information click here.

Governmental Affairs Update

On Tuesday, February 11th, the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee received updates from the state capitol from Senator Scott, Representative Rich and Representative Soper. The committee also took action on the following bills:

Chamber Supports:

HB20-1053-Support For Early Childhood Educator Workforce
Rationale: Access to quality childcare is extremely important to our workforce. This bill would allow people seeking an early childhood education credential to put professional experience toward it, direct state agencies to streamline credentialing requirements and create a scholarship program for people going into the field, thus enabling more people to enter the early education field.

HB20-1109-Tax Credit Employer Contributions to Employee 529s Rationale: This bill incentives employers to invest in professional and educational development for our workforce, giving companies a competitive edge to recruit and retain employees, while also ensuring workforce can meet demands, and access the knowledge required to fill jobs necessary to our economic success.

SB20-094-Plug-in Electric Motor Vehicle Registration Fees

Rationale: This bill will generate additional revenue for transportation in the state by imposing registration fees on plug-in electric vehicles.

Chamber Opposes:

HB20-1025 -Sales Tax Exemption Industrial and Manufacturing Energy Use

Rationale: This bill would substantially increase cost for businesses because they would need to meter every room to separate those that are directly tied to manufacturing and those that are not, making it cost prohibitive.

HB20-1169-Prohibit Discrimination Labor Union Participation Rationale: This proposal would upend the labor peace act and prohibit any employer from creating a union shop potentially setting off an unintended confrontation between labor and business.

SB20-080-Consumer Protection Act Damages

Rationale: This bill will result in an increase of unnecessary and expensive lawsuits, making it significantly more difficult for businesses to operate in Colorado.

SB20-093-Consumer and Employee Dispute Resolution Fairness

Rationale: This bill would make it extremely difficult to enforce binding arbitration clauses in consumer and employment contracts, which could result in an increase of unnecessary litigation, increasing costs for businesses and consumers.

SB20-109- Short-term Rentals Property Tax

Rationale: This bill reclassifies and redefines short-term rental units, which will result in an increase on property taxes for many residential rental properties that are popular with some segments of the tourism market.

SB20-138-Consumer Protection Construction Defect Time Period

Rationale: This bill increases the likelihood of litigation, driving up building costs and making for-sale housing more expensive.

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, March 10 at 7:00 am, at the Chamber in the FCI Board room. Thank you to videoconference sponsor: Entrada Consulting Group.

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