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DENVER – Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman today responded to a series of bills filed in the legislature targeting the business community, declaring them “job killers.” Several of the bills were unveiled at a press conference held today by the bill sponsors.
“We’re seeing an alarming influx in proposals at the Capitol that put the livelihoods of Coloradans at risk this session,” said Furman. “The consequences extend far beyond the energy sector, targeting workers employed directly or indirectly by an entire industry and creating complex new regulations intentionally designed to slow growth. Plain and simple, these bills are job-killers standing in the way of the Colorado Chamber’s vision to make our state more competitive. In order to advance our economic climate and make us a more attractive place to live and do business, these bills must be defeated.”
The bills dubbed as “job killers” by the Chamber include:
- SB 159, which would impose a complete ban on all new oil and gas development across the state, upending the entire industry in Colorado.
- SB 165, a bill that would revive a previously-failed effort to mandate how Coloradans commute to work, requiring reduced use of personal vehicles.
- A bill that would add layers of new complex regulations to obtain environmental and construction permits, intentionally creating costly barriers to industry (awaiting bill number).
The Colorado Chamber will be assessing all legislation in the 2024 session that poses a threat to jobs across the state and will unveil a comprehensive job killers list in the coming weeks.
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The Colorado Chamber of Commerce champions free enterprise, a healthy business environment and economic prosperity for all Coloradans. It is the only business association that works to improve the business climate for all sizes of business from a statewide, multi-industry perspective. What the Colorado Chamber accomplishes is good for all businesses, and that’s good for the state’s economy. It was created in 1965 based on the merger with the Colorado Manufacturers’ Association.