Colorado Capitol Report

In this Capitol Report:

• Senate Majority Republicans & House Majority Democrats Release Committee Assignments
• Annual Holiday Sponsor Appreciation & Awards Reception Held
• DOL Overtime Rule Stopped For Now

Senate Majority Republicans & House Majority Democrats Release Committee Assignments

The majority leadership of the House and the Senate have released assignments for committee chairs and committee membership.

SENATE REPUBLICANS

Here’s the news release from the majority Senate Republicans:

Updated: Senate Republicans Announce Committee Assignments

Denver — Colorado Senate Republicans have announced committee assignments for the 2017 legislative session. New Senate Majority Leader Chris Holbert (R-Parker) said they reflected the “more horizontal” management philosophy Senate Republicans will be using going forward.

“Our goal when making assignments was to diversify rather than concentrate power, which gets more of our members involved in the leadership of committees and strategic planning on the issues they handle,” explained Holbert. “A lot of thought also was given to how the committee chairs and vice-chairs will work together as a team. It isn’t our goal to run a top-town kind of operation, but to ensure that committee members have a lot of say in what bills they want to sponsor and consider, giving them a much greater voice in where our caucus is heading.”

The new assignments are as follows:

The following changes to committee sizes also were announced:

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Here is the news media release from the majority House Democrats.

CONTACT: Speaker-designate Duran 720-296-2928 | Deputy Comms Director Katy Fleury 303-866-2863

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fresh Leadership on House Committees
New Committee Membership Reflects Expanded Democratic Majority in CO House

(Dec. 1) – After gaining an expanded Democratic majority this November, Speaker-designate Crisanta Duran announced the appointment this morning of new chairs for nine of the 11 House committees of reference in the 71^st General Assembly, which begins Jan. 11.

Speaker-designate Duran also announced the vice chairs and other Democratic members of all 11 House committees of reference. Because they are the first stop in a bill’s journey toward becoming law, the committees of reference play a crucial role in every bill’s success or failure.

“Our new leadership is passionate and experienced, with a mix of backgrounds and skills that reflect the people of Colorado as a whole,” Speaker-designate Duran said. “I have great confidence in their leadership as we get to work on solutions that will put people first and move Colorado forward.”

She also appointed Rep. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, as her speaker pro tempore, who will preside over the House when the speaker is absent.

“Rep. Danielson has proven to be a master at the art of conciliation and consensus seeking,” said Speaker-designate Duran. “She values hard work as much as any Coloradan and I will be proud to serve with her.”

The committee chairs and vice chairs announced today are:

·        Rep. Jeni Arndt, D-Fort Collins, on the Agriculture, Livestock & Natural Resources Committee, succeeding the term-limited Rep. Ed Vigil, D-Alamosa. Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, D-Steamboat Springs, becomes vice chairwoman of Ag, replacing Rep. KC Becker, D-Boulder, who leaves the committee to take on the full-time duties of majority leader.

·        Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada, on the Business Affairs & Labor Committee, succeeding term-limited Senator-elect Angela Williams, D-Denver. Replacing Rep. Kraft-Tharp as vice chairwoman of the committee is Rep. Faith Winter, D-Westminster.

·        Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, on the Finance Committee, succeeding the term-limited, Senate-bound Lois Court, D-Denver. Rep. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, remains vice chairman.

·        Rep. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, who succeeds term-limited Senator-elect Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village, on the Judiciary Committee. Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, replaces Rep. Lee as vice chairman.

·        Rep. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, on the Health, Insurance & Environment Committee, replacing the term-limited Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver. The new vice chairwoman of HIE is Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo.

·        Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, who succeeds the Senate-bound Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, on the Local Government Committee.  Replacing Rep. Lebsock as vice chairman of the committee is Rep. Paul Rosenthal, D-Denver.

·        Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, on the Public Health & Human Services Committee, replacing the term-limited Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield. Rep. Danielson is the new vice chairwoman, succeeding Rep. Singer.

·        Rep. Foote, who succeeds the term-limited Rep. Su Ryden, D-Aurora, on the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. Rep. Susan Lontine, D-Denver, will continue as vice chairwoman.

·        Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, D-Steamboat Springs, on the Transportation & Energy Committee. She had been vice chair under the term-limited Rep. Max Tyler, D-Lakewood. Rep. Mitsch-Bush’s new vice chair is Rep. Winter.

Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, will continue to serve as chairwoman of the Education Committee, and Rep. Dave Young, D-Greeley, continues as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Pettersen’s new vice chairwoman is Rep. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, replacing Rep. Lee, who steps down from the vice chairmanship (but remains on the committee) as he takes on the demands of the Judiciary Committee chairmanship. Following the tradition of having the majority members of the Joint Budget Committee serve as the Appropriations Committee leadership, Rep. Millie Hamner, D-Dillon, will continue as Rep. Young’s vice chairwoman.

Here is the complete list of Speaker-designate Duran’s committee-of-reference appointments:

Because the November elections increased the House Democrats’ majority to 37-28, the Democrats will have expanded majorities on the Appropriations, Judiciary, Transportation & Energy and State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committees.

Speaker-designate Duran also adjusted the size of several committees. The Education, Finance and Local Government Committees will have 13 members instead of 11, while the Health, Insurance & Environment Committee will have 11 members instead of 13.

Annual Holiday Sponsor Appreciation & Awards Reception Held

Tricia Smith, CACI, Chuck Berry, CACI, Christie Lee, Lockheed Martin, Loren Furman, CACI and Dave Tabor, CACI (photo by Evan Semón Photography)

CACI’s Company of the Year goes to a company that has been instrumental in supporting CACI through our membership engagement, our advocacy efforts and event sponsorship. Our 2016 Company of the Year Award goes to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

Pictured receiving CACI’s 2016 Company of the Year Award for the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is Christie Lee, Government Relations Analyst. 

Chuck Berry, CACI John Jacus, Davis, Graham and Stubbs , Loren Furman, CACI (photo by Evan Semón Photography)

The Energy Leader Award goes to John Janus.  John is a Partner at the Law Firm of Davis, Graham and Stubbs and specializes in environment litigation and administrative proceedings.  He is hands-down the most respected expert in his field and he is the reason that CACI has been able to defeat or pass monumental legislation and regulations on energy and environmental issues that have had an impact on our CACI members.

Chuck Berry, CACI Tricia Smith, CACI Linda Cavanagh, AAA Colorado Kevin Hobbs, AAA Colorado, Loren Furman, CACI Dave Tabor, CACI (photo by Evan Semón Photography)

The Grand Slam Award goes to a company that has been instrumental in supporting ALL CACI’s events in 2016.  Our Grand Slam Award goes to AAA Colorado for stepping up to the plate and making a difference!  Pictured accepting the Grand Slam Award for AAA Colorado is Linda Cavanagh, President & CEO and Kevin Hobbs, Vice President, Marketing and Communications .  Linda also serves on the CACI Board of Directors.

DOL Overtime Rule Stopped For Now

Yesterday would have been the deadline for all businesses to comply with the Department of Labor (DOL)’s “overtime rule” but businesses have something to be thankful for:  a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the massive and burdensome overtime rule from going into effect.

With just ten days to go before the December 1, 2016, compliance deadline, the court declared that the overtime rule would create a de facto salary test for the ‘white collar exemption” and therefore halted progress on the rule.

“A preliminary injunction preserves the status quo while the court determines the department’s authority to make the final rule as well as the final rule’s validity,” said Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in the Nov. 22 ruling.

Although the injunction is temporary (for now), the ruling recognizes that the 21 states and business groups involved have a substantial and merited case against the DOL.  A spokesperson from the DOL says they will challenge the court’s initial ruling.

“We strongly disagree with the decision by the court, which has the effect of delaying a fair day’s pay for a long day’s work for millions of hardworking Americans. The department’s overtime rule is the result of a comprehensive, inclusive rulemaking process, and we remain confident in the legality of all aspects of the rule. We are currently considering all of our legal options.” – DOL press release

Background:  The proposed overtime salary threshold would be $47,476 ($913/week).  The salary threshold will be updated every three years and tied to the 40^th percentile of full-time salaried employees for the lowest wage region (currently the south).

Both of these factors are part of the current court case, where states have shown that the salary threshold goes against the official duties test, and by automatically ratcheting up the salary threshold every three years, the DOL are taking liberties with their authority and removing authority from Congress to set a salary threshold in the future.

For additional information:

• The Overtime Rule Has Been Blocked, Now What?, Society For Human Management (SHRM)
• Obama Administration Appeals Judge’s Ruling To Block Overtime Pay Rule, NPR

If you have any questions on this or other federal issues, please contact CACI Federal Policy Director, Leah Curtsinger at (303) 866-9641.