House Committee on Business, Labor, Economic, & Workforce Development (03/11/2014)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, LABOR, ECONOMIC, & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Date:	03/11/2014	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:35 PM to 03:40 PM	Exum	X
		Hamner	X
Place:	LSB A	Holbert	X
		Navarro	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Nordberg	X
	Representative Williams	Rosenthal	X
		Ryden	X
This Report was prepared by		Szabo	X
	Erin Vanderberg	Wright	X
		Kraft-Tharp	X
		Williams	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB14-137 SB14-102 HB14-1285		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:36 PM -- SB 14-137

Representative Williams, chair, called the committee to order. A quorum was present. Representative McNulty presented Senate Bill 14-137, concerning certification of workers' compensation insurance forms. Under current law, any policy of insurance or any endorsement, rider, letter, or other document affecting a workers' compensation carrier must receive pre-approval from the Commissioner of Insurance within the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) before taking effect. This bill allows workers' compensation carriers to file an annual report to the Division of Insurance (DOI) in the DORA listing any policy documents affecting an insurance policy or contract. The commissioner will create standardized reporting guidelines. Workers' compensation carriers must also submit a list of any new policy forms or other documents at least 31 days before the change is enacted. All annual reports and lists submitted to the DOI must be certified by an officer of the carrier. The DOI may investigate workers' compensation carriers at its discretion to confirm that forms and documents used by the workers' compensation carrier comply with the requirements in this bill. A workers' compensation insurance carrier whose policy documents fail to comply with statutory mandates commits an unfair method of competition or deceptive trade practice.

Representative McNulty distributed a fact sheet to the committee (Attachment A). Only one witness had signed up for questions, and the committee had none.

140311 AttachA.pdf


BILL:	SB14-137
TIME:	01:37:48 PM
MOVED:	Kraft-Tharp
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 14-137 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	Exum	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Williams	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:38 PM -- SB oh14-102

Representative Gardner and Representative Rosenthal, co-sponsors, presented Senate Bill 14-102, concerning the addition of employment positions held at financial institutions to the circumstances under which an employer may use consumer credit information for employment purposes. Under the Employment Opportunity Act, employers other than state or local law enforcement agencies may not request or use credit information from a prospective or current employee unless that information is substantially related to the employee's current or potential job. The bill clarifies that banks and financial institutions can require credit information for employment purposes from all prospective or current employees.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

01:41 PM -- Pete Kirchhof, representing Mountain West Credit Union Association, testified in support of the bill. He stated that this bill was a clean-up bill designed to give banks or financial institutions the ability to use consumer credit information for hiring purposes. Mr. Kirchhof responded to questions from the committee.

01:45 PM -- Patrick Teegarden, representing the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Teegarden discussed CDLE's rule-setting process where it was revealed that what had been intended with Senate Bill 13-018 could not be accomplished legally without further legislation.

01:46 PM

Representative Rosenthal stated that the Colorado Bankers Association and the Independent Bankers of Colorado are in support of the bill.

01:46 PM

Representative Gardner made closing remarks on the bill.


BILL:	SB14-102
TIME:	01:49:15 PM
MOVED:	Rosenthal
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 14-102 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Hamner
		VOTE
	Exum	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Williams	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:49 PM -- HB 14-1285

Representative Ryden presented House Bill 14-1285, concerning a requirement that a professional tax preparer provide certain disclosures to a client when preparing tax documents for the client. This bill amends the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) to include the Colorado Taxpayer Protection Act. Under the bill, the CCPA requires a disclosure by any person paid to complete all or substantially all of an income tax return or a claim for an income tax refund (a tax preparer). The disclosure is provided on a form produced and posted by the Department of Revenue (DOR) on its website, and must be signed by the tax preparer's client. Under the bill's CCPA provisions, violations of disclosure requirements constitute a deceptive trade practice, with civil penalties of up to $50 (or $100, if the violation is against an elderly person) for each client that did not receive a disclosure or provide a signature on the form. Civil penalties are deposited in the General Fund and may not exceed $25,000 for any one tax preparer. The bill also establishes criminal penalties if a tax preparer provides fraudulent information on a disclosure form. For each client receiving such fraudulent information, the tax preparer commits a class 2 misdemeanor.

Representative Ryden distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment B) and Representative Holbert distributed Amendment L.003 (Attachment C) to the committee. Representative Ryden responded to questions from the committee about tax returns prepared in state for out-of-state individuals, online form capabilities, the need for the bill, penalties prescribed under the bill, and the bill's relationship to federal law.

140311 AttachB.pdf

140311 AttachC.pdf

02:00 PM

Representative Ryden continued to respond to questions from the committee.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

02:02 PM -- Andrew Morehead, representing Public Accountants Society of Colorado, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Morehead stated his association's concern that this bill is a solution in search of a problem and discussed the consumer protections already in place in the state. Mr. Morehead responded to questions from the committee.

02:10 PM

Representative Holbert dialogued with the witness about the amendments as they pertained to Mr. Morehead's testimony. Mr. Morehead stated that his organization is still in opposition to the bill if it is amended. The committee continued to ask questions of the witness.

02:20 PM -- Patrick Pratt, representing the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Pratt discussed concerns of member CPA firms and the chamber's legislative committee. He stated that his organization would be opposed to the bill as amended. Mr. Pratt responded to questions from the committee.

02:30 PM -- Mary Medley, representing the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, testified in opposition to the bill, but neutrally as amended by Amendment L.001. Ms. Medley discussed the standards of the State Board of Accountancy.

02:34 PM -- Ali Mickelson, representing the Colorado Fiscal Institute, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Mickelson stated that a person's hair stylist has more regulation than their tax preparer. She discussed studies related to tax preparation fraud. She stated that it was a common-sense bill and responded to questions from the committee.

02:44 PM

Ms. Mickelson continued to respond to questions from the committee.

02:53 PM -- Laurie Morris, representing Tax Help Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Morris discussed the work of her organization and shared clients' anecdotes about abuses by paid tax preparers. She said that immigrant populations are often targeted by bad actors.

03:03 PM

Ms. Morris continued to respond to questions from the committee.

03:08 PM -- Bridget Kaminetsky, representing 9-to-5, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Kaminetsky related anecdotes from her organization's membership related to tax preparation abuses.

03:13 PM -- Frank Tapy, representing Together Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Tapy discussed his organization's support for the bill and state that the five disclosures proposed in the bill are reasonable and will help protect taxpayers.

03:15 PM -- George Awuor, representing The Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Awuor distributed a copy of his testimony (Attachment D).

140311 AttachD.pdf

03:20 PM -- Jennifer Benda, representing the Colorado Bar Association (CBA), testified neutrally on the bill. She stated that the CBA would support the bill as amended by Amendment L.001. She discussed the rationale behind attorney exemption from regulation.

03:22 PM -- Kevin Bronski, representing DOR, came to the table to respond to questions from the committee.

03:25 PM

The committee entered the amendment phase. Representative Ryden discussed Amendment L.001. Representative Holbert discussed Amendment L.003. Representative Holbert introduced and discussed Amendment L.004 (Attachment E).

140311 AttachE.pdf


BILL:	HB14-1285
TIME:	03:25:12 PM
MOVED:	Ryden
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.001. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Holbert
		VOTE
	Exum
	Hamner
	Holbert
	Navarro
	Nordberg
	Rosenthal
	Ryden
	Szabo
	Wright
	Kraft-Tharp
	Williams
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	HB14-1285
TIME:	03:25:45 PM
MOVED:	Holbert
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.003. The motion failed on a vote of 5-6.
SECONDED:	Nordberg
		VOTE
	Exum	No
	Hamner	No
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	No
	Ryden	No
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	No
	Williams	No

YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB14-1285
TIME:	03:28:49 PM
MOVED:	Holbert
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.004. The motion failed on a vote of 5-6.
SECONDED:	Wright
		VOTE
	Exum	No
	Hamner	No
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	No
	Ryden	No
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	No
	Williams	No

YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

03:36 PM

Representative Ryden delivered closing remarks.


BILL:	HB14-1285
TIME:	03:37:03 PM
MOVED:	Ryden
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 14-1285, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:	Kraft-Tharp
		VOTE
	Exum	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	No
	Navarro	No
	Nordberg	No
	Rosenthal	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Szabo	No
	Wright	No
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Williams	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:39 PM

The committee adjourned.