Colorado Capitol Report

In this Capitol Report:

• Amended Data-Breach Bill Moves Forward
• CACI Governmental Affairs Council Hears from Kurtis Morrison, Legislative Director, Governor's Office of Policy, Research & Legislative Affairs 
• Kyle Brown, Policy Director, Health and Human Services Addresses the CACI HealthCare Council
• Tax Reform 101: Sen. Gardner’s Tax Counsel to Brief CACI
• Division of Unemployment Insurance Notice of Public Hearing to Amend Rules
• Bonnie Finley Sharing All CACI’s Secrets with Lauren Schwartz
• Correction: Bill Affirming Court Ruling that Public Safety and Environment Supersede Oil-and-Gas Production
• CACI's Legislative Agenda

Amended Data-Breach Bill Moves Forward

Because last year’s massive Equifax data breach affected more than 145 million people, in the wake of other major data breaches in recent years, both Republicans and Democrats this session in the Colorado Legislature are seeking to protect consumers from the loss of their information and increase reporting by companies when breaches happen.

Provisions of some of the introduced bills, however, would increase costs on businesses by duplicating Federal requirements, make background checks more difficult on job applicants for employers and restrict the ability of companies to extend loans and credit to consumers.

In recent weeks, CACI has worked diligently with its members and business allies to address these concerns with bill sponsors.

One of the most significant bills is HB-1128, which, in the introduced version, would have placed more burdens on companies that have suffered a data breach by hackers.

The CACI Governmental Affairs Council voted to oppose the bill as introduced.

Along with its allies, CACI worked closely with the bill’s House sponsors, Republican Assistant Minority Leader Cole Wist (Centennial) and Democrat Representative Jeff Bridges (Greenwood Village) to amend the bill to address the business community’s concerns.

Reporting on the bill, Ed Sealover, veteran statehouse reporter for The Denver Business Journal, wrote:

Loren Furman, senior vice president of state and federal affairs for the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, said business leaders worried about a section of the bill that would require duplicative reporting of information for companies like banks and hospitals that already have extensive reporting requirements to the federal government.

And they worried about a clause that would require the reporting of any breaches affecting more than 500 records to the attorney general’s office within seven days and then to consumers within 45 days, whether or not the breach led to the possible misuse of data.

“Look, it’s a priority for all of us that we protect the information of the consumer no matter what,” Furman said. “But why do we have to duplicate that reporting at a state level?”

On Wednesday, the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs unanimously approved a “strike-below” amendment.  The proposal moves to the House Appropriations Committee.

Summary of Amendment

CACI members with questions about data privacy and HB-1128 should contact Loren Furman, CACI Senior Vice President, State and Federal Relations, at 303.866.9642.

For news media coverage of this bill and the data-privacy issue, read:

“Colorado banks and employers won’t be stopped from doing background checks,” by Ed Sealover, The Denver Business Journal, February 15^th.

“Consumer-data privacy bills at Colorado Legislature could drive up business costs, hamper worker background checks,” by Ed  Sealover, The Denver Business Journal, February 12^th.

CACI Governmental Affairs Council Hears from Kurtis Morrison, Legislative Director, Governor's Office of Policy, Research & Legislative Affairs 

The Governmental Affairs Council discussed several bills including:

SB 001 – Transportation Funding
SB 44 – Veteran Preferences
SB 63 – Oil & Gas Financial Assurance
SB 64 – Requirement of 100% Renewable Energy by 2035
SB 116 – Capitol ID Badges
HB 1001 – Family Medical Leave Program
HB 1033 – Leave for Election Purposes
HB 1071 – Oil & Gas Regulation
HB 1097 – Patient Choice
HB 1128 – Data Breaches

Kyle Brown, Policy Director, Health and Human Services Addresses the CACI HealthCare Council

On Thursday, the HealthCare Council heard from Kyle Brown, Policy Director, Health and Human Services who discussed proposed health care bills and the impact on businesses in Colorado.

The Council also considered the recently introduced healthcare-related legislation and took positions on the following bills:

The next HealthCare Council will be on March 22nd from noon-1:00 pm at CACI’s office.

Tax Reform 101: Sen. Gardner’s Tax Counsel to Brief CACI

Join us for a one-hour Q&A session with U.S. Senator Gardner’s legal counsel & tax expert! 

Congressional staffer Brian Wanamaker will be briefing CACI members in one week!  Brian will offer insight into how Congress’ tax reform provisions could be used help businesses and individuals here in Colorado.  Curious about how certain provisions were included?  He can answer those questions, too.

Find out about:

• What employees & employers should look for to benefit their families;
• Which provisions help businesses make bigger capital investments,
• Where pass-through provisions can lower tax bills;
• Which business formations are favored under new tax law (i.e. S-Corp, LLC, etc.)
• New accounting methods for small manufacturers;
• How businesses can repatriate overseas revenue at a one-time 15.5% rate; and,
• Which tax provisions no longer exist.

WHEN:  Friday, February 23^rd, 2018 –  2-3pm

WHERE:  CACI Offices, 1600 Broadway, Ste. 1000

WHY: Ask questions from an expert & gather ideas on how to best utilize new tax changes

Division of Unemployment Insurance Notice of Public Hearing to Amend Rules

The Division of Unemployment Insurance is moving forward with changes to the rules related to work search/actively seeking work. The complete details are in the Notice of Hearing.

Meeting Details

Date:         March 8, at 10 a.m.
Location: 633 17th Street, 12th Floor, Conference Room 12A, Denver, CO 80202

Based on the feedback the Division received in December 2017 regarding work search, changes were made to the original proposal and are included in the rule amendment.

The Division anticipates that the U.S. Department of Labor will eliminate the warning letter as an option for states to use. Since the Division is changing this section of the rule to broaden the definition of what an active work search is, they also moved forward with deleting the warning letter.

Please contact Loren Furman at [email protected] or at 303-866-9642 if you should have any questions regarding this matter.

Bonnie Finley Sharing All CACI’s Secrets with Lauren Schwartz

Dear CACI Members,

It has been my privilege to serve you over the last 17 ½ years. CACI has the best members and I will miss you all!  You can always reach me at [email protected] .

I would like to introduce you to my replacement, Lauren Schwartz!   She will be a great addition to the fantastic CACI staff.  Her background is in community relations and non-profit leadership.  She will be contacting you soon.  If you need her she can be reached at 303-866-9643 [email protected] .

Bonnie Finley

Correction: Bill Affirming Court Ruling that Public Safety and Environment Supersede Oil-and-Gas Production

Last Friday, Capitol Report incorrectly reported that HB-1071 was passed by the House on final, Third Reading by a party-line 34-to-30 vote with one legislator excused.  That was incorrect, and CACI regrets the error.

Two Democrats voted with the 28 minority Republicans against the bill:

• Representative Tracy Kraft-Tharp (Arvada), and
• Representative Dan Pabon (Denver).

The bill has been assigned to the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee.  The Senate sponsor is Senator Dominick Moreno (D-Commerce City).  HB-1071 was sponsored in the House by Representative Joe Salazar (D-Thornton).

The CACI Energy and Environment Council opposes the measure.

Here’s the legislative summary of the introduced bill, which was not amended in the House:

HB-1071  “Concerning the regulation of oil and gas operations in a manner consistent with the protection of public safety.”

Current law declares that it is in the public interest to ‘[f]oster the responsible, balanced development, production, and utilization of the natural resources of oil and gas in the state of Colorado in a manner consistent with protection of public health, safety, and welfare, including protection of the environment and wildlife resources’. The Colorado court of appeals, in Martinez v. Colo. Oil & Gas Conservation Comm’n , 2017 COA 37, has construed this language to mean that oil and gas development is not balanced with the protection of public health, safety, and welfare, including protection of the environment and wildlife resources. Rather, that development must occur in a manner consistent with such protection.

The bill codifies the result reached in Martinez .  On January 29^th, the Colorado Supreme Court announced that it will hear the Martinez case.

For more information about HB-1071, contact Bill Skewes, CACI Contract Lobbyist.

For more information on the bill read:

“Bill Affirming Court Ruling that Public Safety and Environment Supersede Oil-and-Gas Production Jumps First House Hurdle,” CACI Colorado Capitol Report, February 2^nd.

CACI's Legislative Agenda

Below is a list of bills and their status on which CACI Policy Councils have taken positions. For more information on the bills, contact Loren Furman, CACI Senior Vice President, State and Federal Relations, at 303.866.9642.