by

Loren Furman

Vice President, Governmental Affairs

Phone: 303.866.9642

E-Mail: lfurman@COchamber.com

June 17, 2009

Legislative Task Force on the Business Personal Property Tax to Hold First Meeting July 31st

The Legislative Task Force on the Business Personal Property Tax, created by SB-85, is comprised of five House members and five Senate members from the House of Representatives.  Other members include:  the State Property Tax Administrator; a representative of the Colorado Municipal League; a representative of Colorado Counties, Inc.; a member of a local chamber of commerce; a representative of a small business; a representative of a large business; and a member of the public with expertise in tax policy.  The last four appointments were announced today by Governor Bill Ritter’s Office.  Below is the list of those who have been appointed.

Background

SB-85 was originally introduced by Senator Mark Scheffel (R-Parker) as a phase-out of the business personal property tax from 2009 through 2027 only for locally assessed property.  CACI worked with Senator Scheffel and a coalition of CACI’s members to ensure that the bill fairly treated both locally assessed and state assessed companies.  The bill, amended to ensure such equity, also included a forty-year phase-out of the tax.  CACI then supported the amended bill. 

The amended bill passed out of the three committees of reference but did not receive majority support on the Senate Floor.  A motion was offered and passed that returned the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee where it was amended to limit the bill to the creation of the Task Force, whose charge is to study and consider the following:

·         Business personal property tax exemptions that eliminate or phase-out the business personal property tax;

·         An analysis of the cumulative fiscal impact of the exemptions on the state and local governments; and

·         Identification of methods to reimburse any revenue losses to local governments resulting from the exemptions. 

Task Force Membership

Below is a list of the appointees and the meeting schedule for this Taskforce.  The meetings will be held in the Capitol in House Committee Room 112:

Individual Appointed                                              Appointing Authority

 Non-Legislative Members                                        Appointing Authority

(Dave Steepleton is a long-time member of the CACI Tax Council, and CACI had urged the Governor’s Office to appoint Dave to the Task Force.)

The meeting schedule is as follows:

·         Friday, July 31st, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

·         Tuesday, August 18th, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

·         Friday, August 21st, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

·         Tuesday, October 13th, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

·         Wednesday, October 28th, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

·         Thursday, October 29th, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

CACI’s Business Personal Property Tax Coalition will meet prior to the first Task Force meeting to discuss and exchange ideas regarding the goals of the Task Force.  Please contact Loren Furman at lfurman@cochamber.com or by phone at 303.866.9642 if you are interested in participating in this coalition.

CACI Survey Shows Legislators Trying to Solve Problem

that Doesn’t Exist with Mandated Sick-Leave Proposal

During the legislative session, CACI and other business organizations successfully worked to defeat a bill that would have mandated that companies provide sick-leave to workers.  It appears likely, however, that a similar bill may be introduced in the 2010 legislative session.  To provide information to legislators about this issue, CACI recently surveyed its members to gather information about their sick-leave policies.  Here is the text of a press release about the survey that was distributed yesterday to the news media statewide:

Denver, CO – A recent poll of Colorado business shows there is little support for a proposed state law mandating sick leave policies.  The Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry (CACI), the state chamber of commerce, polled its members statewide and asked employers whether they provide sick leave benefits or a combined paid time off (PTO) policy as a benefit to their employees.  There are reports that the Colorado General Assembly will attempt during next year’s legislative session to impose a mandate on Colorado businesses regarding sick-leave policies.

CACI found that 83.3% of employers that responded to the survey currently provide sick leave for their workers as an employee benefit, with the majority of these employers providing between 40-80 hours of sick leave per year, while over 19.2% provide more than 80 hours annually.

In response to claims made that many in the service industry do not provide their workers paid sick days, Steve Bartolin, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of The Broadmoor Hotel, in Colorado Springs, responded:

“The statistics quoted by members of the Legislature misrepresent the service industry and employers in general.  This is yet another example of government intrusion and government trying to fix problems that don’t exist.”

Bartolin goes on to explain:  

“The Broadmoor currently provides up to fifteen days of sick leave per year and an additional four personal days to their employees.  This is in addition to our paid vacation benefits.”   

As the Manager and Human Resources Director of the Bull and Bush Pub and Brewery in Denver, Katy Kennedy shared her concerns with mandating a sick leave policy on small businesses.   “It is critical that small businesses have flexibility with leave policies.  This should be a decision to be made between the employer and employee and not mandated by government.”  

An additional finding of the CACI survey showed that 78.8% of employers surveyed have observed an employee come to work sick, even when provided with sick-leave or PTO benefits.  Mandating companies to require sick leave for employees will not change the fact that workers will continue to work while sick across Colorado and the country.  The answer to this dilemma is not further regulation on business. 

Colorado employers recognize the importance of providing leave benefits to their workers to ensure that they receive time off that is necessary to stay healthy and productive.  Nearly all employers provide sick leave or paid time off to their employees, and the state should not dictate a one-size-fits-all leave policy on employers who provide such benefits currently.

Educating Fifth Graders about U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence is Goal of Liberty Day

By

Andy McKean
President, Liberty Day

Congress passed a law in December 2004 requiring all educational institutions to hold an educational program on the U.S. Constitution annually on September 17, Constitution Day.

Liberty Day is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to educating Americans about the contents of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence with a focus on youth.  Its goal is to have Colorado fifth graders in Colorado receive a free copy of the Liberty Day pocket constitution book along with 24 questions-and-answers (Q&As) on flash cards to study facts taken directly from the U.S. Constitution. 

Liberty Day is seeking volunteers to adopt a class or classes of students and supply these materials to the students.  The cost is $1 per student plus shipping.  Liberty Day is working on a statewide effort to get trained volunteers to go into fifth grade classes to teach the 24 Q&As to the students, return a survey to Liberty Day and have the students complete a quiz on the 24 Q&As.

To help, call Liberty Day at (toll free) 1.866.718.3434 or 303.333.3434.  Liberty Day can be reached via e-mail at libertyday@aol.com  The Web site is www.libertyday.org

Another Web site is www.celebrationamerica.org which is Liberty Day’s statewide effort to recruit and train high school, college and university students to go into fifth grade classes to teach the children about the U.S. Constitution.