Colorado Legislative Strategies Updates - January 21st, 2022

​COLORADO LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES NEWSLETTER
 
January 21, 2022

​The General Assembly plowed forward through its second week despite surging COVID numbers due to the omicron variant. Thankfully, health officials said this week that we started to turn the corner. Although, that isn’t necessarily apparent around the Capitol. 
 
Colorado’s percent of positive tests was nearly 30 percent last week and this week it was down to 26 percent, according to the state epidemiologist. However, anecdotal data from the Capitol feels much higher. 

Several legislators and lobbyists have tested positive and are currently working from home to stop the spread, and the CLS team is no exception. The CLS positivity rate is around 50 percent right now Fortunately, so far it’s only mild cases and after nearly two years of this pandemic we are prepared for anything. It’s 2022 and we forge ahead ready for whatever happens! 
 
Let’s dive into all of the news from the Capitol this week. This week only included four working days due to everyone being off on Monday for Martin Luther King Day and was relatively light on legislative action. Joint committees of reference worked through several SMART Act hearings and more bills were introduced. We are now up to 222 bills introduced - 133 in the House and 89 in the Senate. 
 
The biggest controversy happened at the beginning of the week. Democrats put forward a Memorial in the Senate and a Resolution in the House urging Congress to pass voting rights legislation. Memorials and resolutions are not like regular bills and in reality don’t have much of an effect on anything. But that didn’t stop Republicans from spending several hours on pointless debate. 
 
The most conservative members of the House, notably Representatives Ron Hanks and Dave Williams, offered amendments that let’s just say won’t be helpful with winning a majority. Representative Hanks put forward an amendment for a “full forensic audit” of our recent elections. Those are important buzzwords for some to be certain, but belies the fact that Colorado has what many consider to be a gold-standard election system that already includes risk limiting audits after every election. 
 
Representative Williams, not wanting to be outdone, offered up his own amendment that called for audits in every state and also called for standing with Donald Trump “in his righteous efforts to fight for election integrity.” As if that wasn’t enough, there was another provision that sought support for Mesa County Clerk (and MyPillow enthusiast) Tina Peters. 
 
Don’t hurt your neck shaking your head or let your eyes roll too far back in your head because they weren’t done quite yet. Astonishingly, Representative Williams also put forward an amendment that thanked the people who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. 
 
Note: Representative Hanks (who was also present at rallies in Washington DC on January 6 but did not enter the Capitol building) is running for the US Senate, and Representative Williams is running for the US House. Positions that actually have a role in certifying Presidential election results…
 
Enough with the circus though, let’s get into more real legislative news. One of the most controversial bills this session is the yet-to-be-introduced bill on public employee collective bargaining. Majority Leaders Steve Fenberg and Daneya Esgar have been floating the bill draft and saying they want to make collective bargaining the rule, and not the exception, for all public employees. 
 
The opposition to this bill idea has been growing and now includes Governor Polis. The Governor’s spokesperson this week made clear that the Governor will not support the bill in its current form. However, the Governor did indicate that he is open to a much narrower bill to expand collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is going to be subject to some legislative bargaining now. 
 
Negotiations will go forward as the sponsors consider granting union rights to a narrower group of people or perhaps changing how those rights are granted. Stay tuned for more news on the direction and fate of that bill this session. 
 
As the collective bargaining fight moves under the Gold Dome it shifts away from the picket lines in front of King Soopers grocery stores. News this week was dominated by a strike taking place across the Denver Metro area. There were reports of bad faith negotiations by both sides and King Soopers actually went to get a restraining order on how many picketers could be at each store. By the end of the week, though, there was finally resolution on the horizon. News broke on Friday that there has been tentative agreement between both sides and there will be a formal vote to approve the new contract on Monday. 
 
Next week will include the continuation of SMART Act hearings and Joint Budget Committee hearings on supplemental. On Friday the JBC will move past supplementals and related bill drafts to begin figure setting for next year’s budget. 
 
The following week, starting off February, will include more traditional committee hearings to consider bills.