Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR

Date:02/03/2015
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:34 PM to 03:58 PM
Arndt
X
Garnett
X
Place:LSB A
Navarro
X
Nordberg
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Pabon
*
Representative Williams
Rosenthal
X
Roupe
X
This Report was prepared by
Tate
X
Luisa Altmann
Thurlow
X
Wilson
X
Winter
X
Kraft-Tharp
X
Williams
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB15-1096
HB15-1002
HB15-1117		Postponed Indefinitely
Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
Referred to the Committee of the Whole


01:36 PM -- HB 15-1096

Representative Roupe introduced House Bill 15-1096. The bill creates a general definition of the term "small business" for purposes of Colorado law to apply in situations where a more specific definition does not exist in the statutes. Representative Roupe handed out a summary handout to the committee regarding the bill (Attachment A).

150203 AttachA.pdf150203 AttachA.pdf

Representative Roupe responded to questions from the committee regarding the handout, flexibility in defining what constitutes a small business depending on industry, how "small business" is defined in current law, and other issues related to the bill and creating this definition for "small business."

01:50 PM -- Virginia Morrison Love, Colorado Springs Business Alliance, spoke in support of the bill with amendments.

01:51 PM -- Tony Gagliardi, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Gagliardi responded to committee questions regarding the impact of the bill.





01:55 PM -- RJ Hicks, representing several different trade associations and chambers of commerce, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Hicks responded to committee questions regarding past situations where a clearer definition would have been beneficial, the impact of adding the definition to statute on future programs, and the impact of the "cliff effect" related to this bill and any adverse incentives created by this bill.

02:04 PM -- Helga Grunerud, Executive Director of Hispanic Contractors of Colorado, testified against the bill, but indicated she would support the bill with amendments.

02:09 PM

Representative Roupe introduced and explained amendment L.001 (Attachment B) to the committee.

150203 AttachB.pdf150203 AttachB.pdf
BILL:HB15-1096
TIME: 02:09:27 PM
MOVED:Roupe
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion failed on a vote of 6-7.
SECONDED:Nordberg
VOTE
Arndt
No
Garnett
No
Navarro
Yes
Nordberg
Yes
Pabon
No
Rosenthal
No
Roupe
Yes
Tate
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Winter
No
Kraft-Tharp
No
Williams
No
YES: 6 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


02:15 PM

Representative Roupe provided closing remarks regarding the bill
BILL:HB15-1096
TIME: 02:16:15 PM
MOVED:Roupe
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1096 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a vote of 6-7.
SECONDED:Nordberg
VOTE
Arndt
No
Garnett
No
Navarro
Yes
Nordberg
Yes
Pabon
No
Rosenthal
No
Roupe
Yes
Tate
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Winter
No
Kraft-Tharp
No
Williams
No
YES: 6 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB15-1096
TIME: 02:17:15 PM
MOVED:Williams
MOTION:Postpone House Bill 15-1096 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED:Rosenthal
VOTE
Arndt
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Navarro
No
Nordberg
No
Pabon
Yes
Rosenthal
Yes
Roupe
No
Tate
No
Thurlow
No
Wilson
No
Winter
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Williams
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:18 PM -- HB 15-1002

Representative Lee introduced House Bill 15-1002 to the committee. The bill extends the Economic Gardening Pilot Project within the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). Representative Lee handed out a summary page to the committee (Attachment C) and explained what the economic gardening project does.

Representative Lee responded to questions from the committee regarding the background of the consultants working with the small businesses in the project, the impact the extension created by this bill has on the evaluation of the pilot project, the objectives of the project, and other issues regarding the bill and the program.

02:50 PM -- Karen Gados, Director of Communications and Business Development at SunShare, testified in support of the bill. SunShare is one of the companies that has been selected to participate in the economic gardening pilot project. Ms. Gados spoke about SunShare's business and the strain its growth has placed on its business operations. Ms. Gados also spoke about the services thus far provided by the economic gardening program staff and the benefits SunShare has received and expects to receive from the program. Ms. Gados responded to committee questions regarding SunShare and the economic gardening program's impact on the business.

03:08 PM -- Kelly Manning, State Director of the Colorado Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC), testified regarding the bill. Ms. Manning discussed the work that SBDC does, the process used to select companies for participation in the economic gardening project, and other topics regarding SBDC and the economic gardening program. Ms. Manning responded to committee questions regarding the number of jobs created by the program thus far, success metrics used by SBDC, the marketing efforts used by SBDC to attract companies for participation, and other questions regarding the program.





03:48 PM

Representative Kraft-Tharp laid the bill over for amendments and action only until a future committee meeting.

03:50 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

03:55 PM -- HB 15-1117

Representative Windholz introduced House Bill 15-1117 to the committee.
BILL:HB15-1117
TIME: 03:57:22 PM
MOVED:Williams
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1117 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:Arndt
VOTE
Arndt
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Navarro
Yes
Nordberg
Excused
Pabon
Excused
Rosenthal
Yes
Roupe
Yes
Tate
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Winter
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Williams
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:58 PM

The committee adjourned.