The Colorado Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday hosted a regulatory-reform roundtable with leaders of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies to discuss how business leaders can be more involved in the process of setting and changing rules.
DORA Executive Director Patty Salazar, DORA Director of Legislative Affairs Matt Gorenc and Charlie Arnowitz, a senior policy adviser to Gov. Jared Polis, spoke to a group of about 60 chamber members gathered in person and online. Salazar went over topics ranging from how sunset reviews work to when mandatory rule reviews are required to how state residents can request cost-benefit analyses during any rulemaking.
The event was part of the Chamber’s continuing efforts to push regulatory reform and to demonstrate its partnership with the state of Colorado in this process. A December 2024 study commissioned by the Chamber found that Colorado has the sixth-largest number of regulations of any state, and the Chamber spearheaded passage of a law earlier this year that will require audits of two state departments involved in regulation.
Attendees asked numerous questions about how they can request cost-benefit analyses and about how those analyses can impact the promulgation of rules. Salazar noted that all such documents are sent to the appropriate regulatory board to consider as board members develop specific rules, although the analyses can’t stop a legislatively mandated rule from going into place.
Chamber members representing many industries shared frustrations with the current rule-review process, noting that it feels sometimes that agencies treat it as a “box-checking exercise” rather than an opportunity to hear concerns and adjust rules accordingly. Salazar invited follow-up conversations with members who have had bad rulemaking experiences with state agencies, and she emphasized that state law dictates that regulations should be of the lowest extent possible to protect public health and safety.
She also noted that sunset reviews are published on Oct. 15 each year and offer business leaders an opportunity to weigh in on particular rules or agencies, as such reviews then must go before the Legislature. Annual SMART Act hearings held at the beginning of each legislative session also are a time when the public can comment to regulators and legislators about regulations, she added.
The presentation from the meeting can be found here.