The day before the commencement of the General Assembly, a special task force delivered a report on how the state could offer more workers paid family and medical leave if lawmakers create an insurance program administered by the state. The Legislature opted for the report last year, when a bill to create the program stalled out against opposition from […]
In the News
New Report Shows Fracking Ban Would Hit Hard In Colorado And New Mexico
A national hydraulic fracturing ban being pushed by Democratic presidential candidates would hit Colorado and New Mexico especially hard, according to a new report released by the Global Energy Institute at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Combined, the two states would lose more than 600,000 jobs and $250 billion in GDP by 2025 from a […]
Final actuarial study raises cost of potential Colorado paid-family-leave program Loren Furman, senior vice president of state and federal relations for the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, also pointed out that the actuarial study estimates a higher rate of utilization than many proponents have predicted. Read the complete article by Ed Sealover in the Denver Business […]
BIZ JOURNAL: Businesses may face higher taxes for Colorado’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund before next downturn
By Ed Sealover, Denver Business Journal Colorado businesses that anted up to bail out the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund during the last recession may be asked to do so again even before the next downturn hits, in order to try to prevent insolvency of the fund. State Rep. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat and […]
The Colorado Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the state’s labor department expressing reservations about a proposal to gradually raise the salary threshold for workers’ overtime exemption. Read the complete article in The Daily Sentinel.
Colorado Chamber’s Loren Furman Talks Denver Minimum Wage on KOA Radio
Loren Furman, Senior Vice President of State and Federal Relations, joined Colorado’s Morning News on KOA this morning to talk about the City of Denver’s proposal to fast-track a local minimum wage increase beginning in January 2020. If passed, Denver’s minimum wage would raise to $15.87 per hour by January 2021, a $4.77 increase from […]
OPINION | Business community seeks common ground on family leave
Op-Ed by Loren Furman for Colorado Politics The latest developments arising from Colorado’s newly-formed Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Task Force are cause for concern that the process to create balanced policy on such an important issue could be undermined. The task force was created by the legislature this year after a proposed state-run, […]
COLORADO POLITICS: Colorado Congress reps talk economy, health care, immigration at Denver luncheon
By Caitlin Curley, Colorado Politics A panel of Colorado’s U.S. congressional representatives discussed the state’s recent successes and current issues at a Colorado Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday in Denver. U.S. Reps. Ed Perlmutter, Diana DeGette, Doug Lamborn, Joe Neguse and Jason Crow answered questions about trade deals, the economy and Colorado’s growth at the […]
COLORADO SUN: How an obscure tax case became a $250 million political fight at the end of the legislative session
In a momentous session, Senate Bill 233 may have been the most important bill of the year that few outside the Gold Dome even noticed. By Brian Eason With only days left in the 2019 legislative session, Colorado lawmakers were presented with an extraordinary plea from the Polis administration: Pass a law to help the […]
5 contentious wins for Colorado business during the 2019 legislative session
“I think the concepts are easy to identify as a party message. But once you get into the details, it gets harder,” said Loren Furman, senior vice president for state and federal relations for the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, who was involved in negotiations over each of the five key bills. “The reason may be […]