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Arvada Chamber Position: Neutral

This bill allows an employee to use accrued paid sick leave when the employee needs to:

• Care for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed due to inclement weather, loss of power, loss of heating, loss of water, or other unexpected occurrence or event that results in the closure of the family member’s school or place of care; or
• Grieve, attend funeral services or a memorial, or deal with financial and legal matters that arise after the death of a family member.

Rationale: We will defer to the sponsors and legislative creators of the FAMLI program to offer these technical changes to their policy.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The bill requires a person who solicits a fee for filing a document with, or retrieving a public record from, the secretary of state to include specific disclosure language in the solicitation. The person must also include information on where the document can be filed directly with the secretary of state, or where the public record can be retrieved, and the name and physical address of the person who is soliciting. The bill also prohibits the use of any form, deadline dates, or other language that makes the document used for solicitation appear to be issued by a state agency or local government or that appears to impose a legal duty on the individual being solicited. Violation of these requirements is an unfair or deceptive trade practice.

Rationale: This bill addresses the constant problem of solicitations representing the Colorado SOS office with respect to business filings. These deceptive practices that overcharge for state filing fees by outside entities must end and this bill will end that practice.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Neutral

Current law specifies that a covered individual’s weekly paid family and medical leave benefit is determined based on the individual’s average weekly wage earned during the covered individual’s base period or alternative base period from the job or jobs from which the covered individual is taking paid family and medical leave, which excludes from the calculation recent wages from previous jobs. The bill eliminates the limit on calculating the benefit based on the average weekly wage earned only from the job or jobs from which the individual is taking paid family and medical leave.

Rationale: The Arvada Chamber’s position is neutral on this bill as it relates to continued technical changes to FAMLI legislation by sponsors.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

Current law authorizes the director of the division of labor standards and statistics in the department of labor and employment (director) to create and administer a process to accept and mediate complaints, to provide legal resources concerning alleged wage inequity, and to promulgate rules as necessary for this purpose. The bill changes these authorizations to requirements.

Additionally, the bill requires the director to:

• Investigate complaints or other leads concerning wage inequity;
• Upon finding of a violation, order compliance and relief; and
• Promulgate rules to enforce the bill.

The bill also requires an employer to:

• For each job opportunity or promotional opportunity where the employer is considering more than one candidate, follow specific guidelines for posting the opportunity;
• For all job opportunities and promotional opportunities, provide specific information to employees regarding the candidate selected for the opportunity; and
• For all objectively defined career progressions, disclose the requirements for career progression and the terms of compensation, benefits, status, duties, and access to further advancement.

Rationale: An amendment to the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act of 2019, this bill makes needed improvements to the legislation by clarifying requirements around job postings and posting salary requirements.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

Currently, the state and several state enterprises impose fees on retail sales of taxable tangible personal property delivered by motor vehicle to a location in the state. These fees are collectively known as the retail delivery fee (RDF), and a retailer who makes a retail delivery is required to add the RDF to the price of the retail delivery, collect it from the purchaser, and pay the RDF revenue to the department of revenue (department), which distributes the revenue to the appropriate cash funds.

The department generally administers the RDF in the same manner as the state sales and use tax. The bill modifies this administration by permitting a retailer to pay the RDF on behalf of the purchaser. If the retailer elects to pay the RDF, then the retailer is:

Not required to add the RDF to the price of the retail delivery, separately itemize the RDF, or collect the RDF from the purchaser, who is not liable for the amount nor eligible for a refund of an erroneously paid RDF; and

Required to remit the RDF on the date that would be required if the RDF had been received from the purchaser on the date of the retail delivery.

Rationale:  This bill clears up the process to apply the 27-cent retail delivery fee and helps small businesses by making it optional to itemize the fee or not to consumers. The Chamber supports any efforts to streamline or make current processes to collect this fee easier for small businesses and therefore recommends a position of support.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Neutral (ONLY if notices can be digital)

Current law requires an employer to provide its employees with an annual statement showing the total compensation paid and the income tax withheld for the preceding calendar year. The bill requires an employer to also provide, within a week before or after providing the statement and in the same manner as the statement is provided, written notice of the availability of the federal and state earned income tax credits and the federal and state child tax credits. The written notice must be in English and any other language the employer uses to communicate with employees and must include any additional content that the department of revenue prescribes.

Rationale: The addition of allowing notices by email and text will help businesses to be able to carry out this state mandate.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Active Support

The State has made great strides in simplifying our Sales and Use tax system(s). This work needs to continue. The budget approved to originally establish SUTS was not fully utilized, and this should be considered when evaluating fiscal impact. Furthermore, as the systems get simpler to use – the number of businesses reporting taxes will likely increase – as will revenues to the State and local jurisdictions. This is a bi-partisan bill that has logical improvements to SUTS. SUTS should continue to improve every year making Colorado a more competive State for doing business.

Rationale: This bill helps business to be able to easily and quickly file sales and use tax to the state.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The bill specifies that actions brought for violations of minimum wage laws must be commenced within 2 years after the cause of action accrues or, for a willful violation, within 3 years after the cause of action accrues.

Rationale: This bill is helpful to businesses to close a loophole as the federal limitation is 6 years.

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Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

The bill creates a dependent allowance for an individual receiving unemployment compensation (eligible individual) for each of the eligible individual’s dependents. The dependent allowance starts on July 1, 2025, is $35 per dependent per week, and increases annually for inflation if necessary. The bill defines “dependent” as a child of an eligible individual who receives at least half of the child’s financial support from the eligible individual and who is:

• Under 18 years of age; or
• 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

The bill requires the division of unemployment insurance to report to the general assembly regarding the dependent allowance annually, beginning August 31, 2025, and by August 31 of each year thereafter.

Rationale: The fund is recovering from an unforeseen shortfall during COVID. By allowing for pay to help with dependants is concerning and will lead to more utilization of the fund during an unstable time.

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Arvada Chamber Position: Strongly Oppose

The bill imposes requirements for certain types of employers with regard to:

• The determination of employee work schedules;
• Employee requests for changes to work schedules; and
• Notices and posting of employee work schedules.

In addition to pay for hours worked by the employee, the bill requires certain types of employers to pay employees:

• Predictability pay when an employer makes certain changes to an employee’s work schedule;
• Rest shortfall pay when an employee is required to work hours without a minimum period of rest after a prior shift;
• Retention pay when an employer provides work hours to a new employee without first offering the work hours to existing employees; and
• Minimum weekly pay in an amount that corresponds to 15% of the average weekly hours indicated on the employee’s anticipated work plan, paid at the greater of the employee’s regular rate of pay or the minimum wage, regardless of whether the employee works such hours.

Rationale: The bill seeks to create a predictable work schedule for the unpredictable nature of businesses. Solving this problem by fining employers for shortfalls in scheduling is not the answer and could ultimately lead to further uncertainty for employers and employees.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

Concerning pet animal ownership in housing, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting restrictions on dog breeds for obtaining homeowner’s insurance, providing for the manner in which pet animals are handled when a writ of restitution is executed, prohibiting security deposits or rent for pet animals, creating the pet friendly landlord damage mitigation program, excluding pet animals from personal property liens, and requiring that pet animals be allowed at a qualified development for the development to receive the Colorado affordable housing tax credit.

Rationale: The Arvada Chamber has made it a part of their mission to support efforts to make housing both more affordable and attainable. The challenge with this bill lies in the liability that the landlord will now take on if a renter brings in a pet and that pet causes damage to the property that must be repaired. This bill could potentially make rental housing less affordable or result in fewer rental properties on the market.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Oppose

For any proposed metropolitan district that has any property within its boundaries that is zoned or valued for assessment as residential, section 1 of the bill prohibits a local government from approving a service plan that permits the purchase of district debt by any entity with respect to which any director of the district has a conflict of interest necessitating disclosure under current law.

Section 2 prohibits a member of the board of a metropolitan district that approved the issuance of any debt while the member was serving on the board from acquiring any interest in the debt individually or on behalf of any organization or entity for which the board member is engaged as an employee, counsel, consultant, representative, or agent unless the debt is acquired indirectly through an investment fund and the member has no input into or control over the individual securities that the fund purchases.

Section 3 states that proof of a violation of the prohibition set forth in section 2 is proof that the violator has breached the actor’s fiduciary duty and the public trust.

Rationale:  There is a concern that this creates additional complications while addressing an important topic. In lieu of this bill, the Chamber is supporting SB 23-110 which will address similar issues in this piece of legislation.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Monitor

The bill repeals statutory provisions prohibiting counties and municipalities from enacting any ordinance or resolution that would control rent on private residential property or a private residential housing unit. The bill also makes a conforming amendment. Section 3 states that proof of a violation of the prohibition set forth in Section 2 is proof that the violator has breached the actor’s fiduciary duty and the public trust.

CLICK TO READ BILL

Arvada Chamber Position: Support

The bill creates a state income tax credit for employers who make a monetary contribution to an employee for use by the employee in purchasing a primary residence. The amount of the credit allowed is 5% of an employer’s contribution to an employee, but the credit is capped at $5,000 per employee per year and an employer cannot receive a credit of more than $750,000 for all contributions made in a year to employees. The employee must use the money contributed for eligible expenses which include a down payment and closing costs, including fees for appraisals, mortgage origination, and inspections.

An employee may authorize their employer to withhold a specified amount of the employee’s earnings as an employee contribution into the savings account established by the employer that holds the employer contribution. If an employee ends their employment with the employer or if the employee intends to use the employee contribution in a manner that is not consistent with an eligible expense, the employee forfeits any unexpended amount of the employer contribution and the amount of the credit allowed to the employer for the employer contribution is subject to recapture. In such an occurrence, the employee is entitled to the employee contribution, plus any interest earned.

The credit is not refundable but may be carried forward by the employer for a period of not more than 5 years. The amount contributed by the employer may be subtracted by the employee from the employee’s federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state taxable income; except that, if an employee forfeits the employer contribution, then the amount that the employee had subtracted from their federal taxable income is added back to their federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state taxable income for the subsequent tax year.

The executive director of the department of revenue may promulgate rules related to the implementation of the credit.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Rationale: Workforce housing is a priority for the Arvada Chamber. This bill seeks to support both employees and employers to buy homes where they work by offering tax credits if an employer makes a contribution to support a home purchase for the employee. If supported by the Governor, this bill does not use taxpayer money but offers an incentive to employers to help employees save up for a downpayment on a home.