Colorado Capitol Report

Final Actuarial Analysis on Family Leave Program Released and its Expensive!


Final Actuarial Analysis on Family Leave Program Released and its Expensive!

The actuary that was hired to conduct the actuarial analysis of a paid state-administered family leave program for Colorado has submitted his final report to the Family & Medical Leave Task Force.  The actuary was asked by the Task Force to cost out a “low benefit model” with more conservative paid benefits versus a “high benefit model” with Cadillac-type paid benefits.  Key takeaways from the report include:

  • Cost for “Low Benefit Model” beginning in 2024 = $1.1 Billion;
  • Cost for “High Benefit Model” beginning in 2024 = $2.3 Billion;
  • Utilization rate projections:  3.53% and would INCREASE EACH YEAR, up to 8.4%;
  • Jan. 1, 2023:  Date the funding must be established at the latest;
  • Jan. 1, 2024:  Date payments for benefits would begin (this assumes 80% payment of claims during the 1st year);
  • Premiums increase from 1.14% to 1.4% in 10 years to keep up with utilization and increased wages;
  • The “High Benefit Model” would exceed the 1% premium cap that the bill sponsors included in the 2019 legislation;
  • $7.00 – $11.00 would be collected for every $1,000 an employee earns up to an income cap ($90k vs. $132k);
  • The actuary used 10 states for his analysis:  CA, CT, DC, HI, MA, NJ, NY, OR, RI & WA.

This chart outlines the details on the cost for a “low benefit model” versus a “high benefit model”.

 Next steps:

The Task Force will be holding its final meetings on 12/16 and 12/17 and will submit its final report to the Legislature by January 8th.  Once legislative members have reviewed the report, they will determine their next steps on paid family leave legislation for the 2020 Session.  Please see the agendas for those meetings as well as the Final Actuarial Report.

Please contact Loren Furman at [email protected] with any questions regarding this matter.


Attorney General Phil Weiser Speaks to Colorado Chamber Board of Directors

The Colorado Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors was honored to hear a presentation by Attorney General Phil Weiser at its Board of Directors meeting this week.  Mr. Weiser was accompanied by Jeff Riester who recently joined the Attorney General’s Office as its Legislative Liaison.  Mr. Weiser spoke on many topics that are a priority to the Office of the Attorney General including:  data privacy; cyber security; pretrial reform; air and water quality; initiation of anti-trust cases by the State; and connecting businesses through “Start-up Colorado.”

The Attorney General also shared his strong interest in collaborating with the Colorado Chamber of Commerce and the business community on these issues and the CO Chamber has already been working closely with the Attorney General on the topic of data privacy which is a key issue for its members.


Get Exposure & Access to Key Players in Government & Politics

Sponsoring a Policy Council meeting puts you front and center with key legislators, government officials, and Colorado Chamber members.

 The following Councils are available to all our members:

  • Energy and Environment Council
  • HealthCare Council
  • Labor and Employment Council
  • Governmental Affairs Council
  • Tax Council

Each Council will meet at noon at the Colorado Chamber of Commerce office throughout the session. Lunch is served at each meeting. Sponsorship of council meetings by our members is crucial to maintaining the practice of providing lunch during these important council meetings. We need sponsors for every meeting, so we would like to encourage members to sign up now to sponsor a lunch! Sponsors receive recognition in both email reminders for the meeting and our online Events Calendar, as well as during the meeting. The Colorado Chamber of Commerce does all of the ordering and setup of the lunch and the sponsorship is always a flat rate of $650Please contact Laura Moss for more details or to sign up as a sponsor. We appreciate your ongoing support!

Please see the below for specific dates for each council. Councils always meet from Noon to 1:15 p.m. in our conference room at 1600 Broadway, Suite 1000.

2019-2020 Council Meeting Dates

Energy & Environment Council:
January 29, 2020
February 25, 2020
March 24, 2020
April 29, 2020

Governmental Affairs Council:
January 28, 2020
February 11, 2020
March 31, 2020
April 27, 2020

HealthCare Council:
December 17, 2019
January 16, 2020
February 13, 2020
March 12, 2020
April 16, 2020

Labor & Employment Council:
November 20, 2019
January 22, 2020
February 19, 2020
March 18, 2020
April 22, 2020

Tax Council:
January 17, 2020
February 7, 2020
March 6, 2020
April 17, 2020