This week, the Colorado Chamber Energy and Environment Council, Legal Reform Alliance and Technology Alliance gathered to discuss upcoming legislation affecting the business community and heard from key leaders on future proposals.
The Energy and Environment Council was joined by speakers from the Colorado Energy Office, including Chris Piper, director of legislative affairs; Adair Andre, legislative liaison and policy analyst; and Dominique Gómez, deputy director. The speakers discussed their priorities for the session, specifically relating to clean energy planning, building decarbonization and electric vehicle incentives.
The Legal Reform Alliance discussed multiple bills including upcoming proactive legislation regarding third party litigation funding that is of interest to the group. The alliance also provided feedback on a potential bill from the attorney general’s office regarding “limitation on discovery”. The bill would change how the attorney general’s office manages discovery in their representation of state agencies.
The Technology Alliance was joined by Dawn Reinfeld, Antonia Merzon and Meghan MacKillop with Blue Rising who discussed their upcoming child privacy protection legislation and answered questions from members. Alexa Schlechter with the College Board also spoke to the group about the launch of Career Kickstart, highlighting a new career pathway course focused on cybersecurity and strengthening the workforce. Members also received updates on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force and discussed possible AI and technology legislation including a bill that defines the scope of high-risk AI systems and how they are regulated.
The Colorado Chamber took positions on the following bills:
Energy & Environment Council Positions:
HB 1040: Support
The bill updates the statutory definition of “clean energy” and “clean energy resource” to include nuclear energy for the state’s renewable energy standard and the Rural Clean Energy Project Finance Program. This definition aims to secure ongoing funding for innovations in clean energy technology, ensuring the infrastructure can meet the state’s growing energy demand while maintaining affordability.
HB 1042: Support
The bill establishes a workforce advisory council to evaluate air quality rules that affect workforce issues in impacted industries. The council will also discuss incorporating workforce impact analyses into the rule-making process for air quality regulations.