SB22-161 | Wage Theft Employee Misclassification Enforcement

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

This bill is the result of long-standing discussions with general contractors and carpenters. Labor advocates believe misclassification and wage theft is widespread. These tend to impact the entire business community. Wage theft has been made a felony, but we’re now seeing more wage determinations based on complaints at the labor department.

Collecting on these claims has traditionally been hard to collect, which this bill sets out to solve. But it goes beyond this, which makes the bill difficult to pass. Negative impact on housing due to creation of new classification of mechanics leans. Generally overreaching and not focused on the problem. Already wage theft protection in place and mechanics leans protections in place.

SB22-163 | Establish State Procurement Equity Program

Arvada Chamber Position: Monitor

The bill establishes the state procurement equity program (program) in the department of personnel and administration (department)
for the purpose of eliminating disparities, including the substantial disparities identified in the state disparity study report prepared as
required by Senate Bill 19-135, between the availability of historically underutilized businesses and the utilization of such businesses in state procurement. The bill opens up certification based on existing disparity for women and minorities compared to other states, according to the study.

This bill could negatively affect the majority of businesses that bid on state contracts by giving preferential treatment that is not based on qualifications. It sets up procurement assistant programs to help businesses wade through the complexity of doing business with the state. We will monitor this bill, as we need to be competitive against other states, but don’t want to discriminate against anyone.

HB22-1026 | Alternative Transportation Options Tax Credit

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The bill replaces an existing income tax deduction for expenses incurred by employers when providing alternative transportation options to employees with a refundable income tax credit of 50% of such expenses for such employers. The Arvada Chamber supports this bill as an opt-in solution to reduce emissions that provides business incentives, rather than penalties.

HB22-1039 | Sales & Use Tax Exemption Form Simplification

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

This bill requires the department of revenue to examine its forms and requirements in an effort to simplify the process of making tax-exempt purchases. This is one of six bills in a sales tax simplification bill package added this year that will continue to make marginal but needed improvements.We support this bill as it makes it easier on businesses with multiple locations or online sales.

HB22-1071 | Damages In Class Actions Consumer Protection Act

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

The bill states that in a class action under the “Colorado Consumer Protection Act”, a successful plaintiff may recover actual damages, injunctive relief allowed by law, and reasonable attorney fees and costs. We oppose this legislation as it may impact businesses’ abillity or cost to get insurance in the state.

HB22-1112 | Workers’ Compensation Injury Notices

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

Current Colorado law requires an injured employee or someone else with knowledge of the injury to notify the employer within four days after the occurrence of an on-the-job injury, authorizes a reduction in compensation to the injured employee for failure to timely notify the employer, and tolls the four-day period if the employer has failed to post a notice specifying the injured employee’s notification deadline.

The bill would change the four-day notice period to a 14-day notice period and repeals the tolling and compensation reduction provisions. The bill would also require employers to post notices of the time periods.

HB22-1138 | Reduce Employee Single-occupancy Vehicle Trips

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

In 2021, the Department of Health drafted a rule to require employers to reduce the single-occupancy vehicle commutes of their workers. The Governor’s office pulled the plug on this bill based on the opposition from the business community. This bill proposes an ETRP option with much more paperwork, even for employers not claiming a similar tax credit. Despite hinting that this bill’s plan would be mandatory for the state and optional for private industries, that language is not built into the bill.

HB22-1144 | Naturally Acquired Immunity COVID-19

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The bill requires an employer, as a condition of employment, or a state agency that imposes a COVID-19 vaccine or testing requirement to allow a person subject to the requirement to instead provide documentation demonstrating that the person has naturally acquired immunity to the disease.

HB22-1152 | Prohibit Employer Adverse Marijuana Use

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

This bill allows for recreational and medical marijuana to be used at work and prohibits an employer from taking punitive action against employees. The business community is largely against this bill and it is not likely to pass. This bill could drive up the cost of federally mandated workers’ compensation coverage. Accommodation laws also already allow businesses to consider candidates that may need medical marijuana.

HB22-1200 | Employee Exemption COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The bill requires an employer that imposes a COVID-19 vaccine requirement to grant an employee an exemption if the employee submits a written request stating that compliance with the requirement would endanger the employee’s or household member’s health and well-being or would violate or conflict with the employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs. If an employer terminates an employee for failing to comply with the employer’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement, the terminated employee is not disqualified from eligibility for unemployment benefits.

HB22-1201 | Standards For Immunization Requirements

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

The bill allows individuals who are required to receive an immunization for any purpose to claim an exemption from the requirement if the:  Immunization has not been approved by the federal food and drug administration (FDA); Immunization has only received emergency use authorization or; Immunization manufacturer is not liable for injury or death.

HB22-1216 | Uniform Restrictive Employment Agreement Act

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

The bill enacts the “Uniform Restrictive Employment Agreement Act” as drafted by the Uniform Law Commission, which regulates agreements between an employer and a worker or employee that prohibit or limit the worker or employee from working after the work relationship with the employer. The Chamber opposes this legislation as we already have extensive restrictions on Non-Compete Agreements. With expanding protections on Whistleblowers (see SB22-097), Non-Disclosures are necessary to protect business trade secrets.

HB22-1218 | Resource Efficiency Buildings Electric Vehicles

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

The bill mandates that new commercial buildings must include 10% of parking spaces with electronic charging stations and be pre-wired with 50% charging space capacity. The business community, largely construction, is opposed.

HB22-1317 | Restrictive Employment Agreements

Arvada Chamber Position: Amend

This bill is a replacement of HB22-1216 as a much narrower version of non-compete reform. The business community can work with this amended bill if employers can still practically enforce non-disclosure agreements. This bill needs to clearly exclude non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements.

The Arvada Chamber supports an amend position.

SB22-32 | Simplify Local Sales & Use Tax Administration

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

This bill requires sufficient information to be collected from retailers that have a state standard retail license and do not have physical presence in a local taxing jurisdiction, when the retailer applies for or renews a business license through the state’s electronic sales and use tax simplification system. This is one of six bills in a sales tax simplification bill package added this year that will continue to make marginal but needed improvements.We support this bill as it makes it easier on businesses with multiple locations or online sales.

SB22-097 | Whistleblower Protection Health & Safety

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

This bill would make permanent a workplace health and safety whistleblower regime created by the legislature in 2020. Labor advocates incorrectly assumed businesses would not allow employees to wear masks or have the proper PPE. This bill set up a very extensive regime allowing employees to sue employers. We opposed this at the time as it was duplicative of existing OSHA and state laws. This bill would make the prior bill permanent beyond the public health emergency. Currently, the regime has hardly been used because existing remedies are effective and passing this bill will cost the state $1 million to enforce.

SB22-115 | Concerning Clarifying Certain Terms as the Terms Relate to a Landowner’s Liability

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The bill clarifies certain terms related to the landowner liability act which dates back to some years. Recently we had a case before the Supreme Court in Colorado regarding when certain things are foreseeable and if a business can take on the liability of violence on their premises. The incident that brought this to the courts was the shooting in Colorado Springs years ago at Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood in which several people were killed. The court attempted to identify certain kinds of businesses being more prone to these types of incidences whether they were politically neutral or not. A claim was also filed that the organization should be held responsible and that the mass shooting could have been stopped. This bill sets out to remove liability for business owners in the event of these third-party criminal acts.

SB22-124 | SALT Parity Act

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

This bill allows pass-through entities, such as limited liability companies and S-corporations, to pay personal state income tax at the entity level. With this bill, small business owners have the ability to bypass the $10,000 cap on deductions of state income tax. The bill would not impact state tax income, only federal, and is expected to pass.

HB22-1002 | Fifth Year High School Concurrent Enrollment

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

House Bill 1002 expands the current enrollment of the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment (ASCENT) program by allowing each qualified student selected by the local education provider to participate. It also reduces the number of credits to be eligible and repeals requirements to repay unfinished courses. We support this bill as it provides certification to allow workers to enter the workforce more quickly.

HB22-1006 | Property Tax Exemption for Property Used for Child Care Centers

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

Under the state constitution, property that is used solely and exclusively for charitable purposes is exempt from property tax, unless otherwise provided by general law. Under this constitutional authority, there is currently an exemption for property used as an integral part of a child care center. The Arvada Chamber supports this bill with an addition of a sunset clause.

HB22-1009 | Continue Workforce Diploma Pilot Program

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The workforce diploma pilot program was established in 2019 to support Colorado adults without a high school credential and is scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2022. This bill continues the pilot program indefinitely.The bill requires the department of education to annually adjust the amounts paid to qualified providers under the program in accordance with the corresponding percentage change in the consumer price index. We support this bill as it is preferable to have all individuals engaged in the workforce.

SB22-140 | Expansion of Experiental Learning

Arvada Chamber Position: Support with Amendments

The bill requires the department of labor to select at least two work-based learning (WBL) intermediaries to coordinate employers, schools, youth, and adults participating in the incentive program to establish WBL opportunities and select employers to participate in the incentive program.

The Arvada Chamber agrees with the intent of the bill, but as currently constituted, does not include good outlines on how this will be implemented. We support the bill with amendments to direct how and who will implement the program.

SB22-192 | Opportunities For Credential Attainment

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

This bill promotes access to non-degree credential programs. It may help to increase the pool of qualified employees for businesses.

A taskforce met this summer to decide how to use ARPA funding for workforce. This bill creates pathways for stackable credentials. It is a positive bill. Not the big workforce bill, but still positive for business.

HB22-1350 | Regional Talent Development Initiative Grant Program

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

This bill allocates $91 million, from ARPA and the General Fund, to OEDIT, to come up with a grant process that supports workforce programs. Grant programs have to focus on industries with dire workforce shortages. An industry council was put together to decide the process. But the decision-maker is still OEDIT.

We agree this is meaningful money, going to workforce programs run by the private sector, which is helpful.

SB22-146 | Middle Income Access Progam Expansion

Arvada Chamber Position: Support with Amendment

The bill transfers $25 million to the department of local affairs (DOLA) for expansion of the middle income access program created and
administered by the Colorado housing and finance authority (CHFA).

We feel this is an acceptable temporary solution. But if we really want to tackle this issue successfully, need to engage government entities that are better adept at tackling up-front costs. The Arvada Chamber supports this bill with the addition of a committee to better understand the real reasons for rising housing costs.