Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR

Date:03/19/2015
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:31 PM to 06:12 PM
Arndt
X
Garnett
X
Place:LSB A
Keyser
*
Navarro
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Nordberg
X
Representative Williams
Pabon
X
Rosenthal
X
This Report was prepared by
Roupe
X
Luisa Altmann
Tate
X
Thurlow
X
Winter
X
Kraft-Tharp
X
Williams
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB15-1276
HB15-1274
HB15-1231		Amended, Referred to Appropriations
Amended, Referred to Appropriations
Amended, Referred to Appropriations


01:32 PM -- HB 15-1276

Representative Pabon and Representative Williams, sponsors, introduced House Bill 15-1276. The bill creates the "Skilled Worker Outreach, Recruitment, and Key Training Act," also referred to as the "WORK Act," which establishes a matching grant program in the Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to award matching grants to entities and organizations that offer skilled worker training programs to assist in their outreach, recruiting, and training efforts. The program is administered by CDLE, and an 11 member grant review committee which reviews and makes recommendations to the executive directors of CDLE and the Department of Higher Education, and the Director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), who jointly determine the recipients and amounts of the grant awards. The grant review committee is to develop criteria for ranking grant applicants, taking into consideration those applicants that demonstrate partnerships with industry and that have the best potential to reach a broad audience through their recruitment and outreach efforts, significantly increase enrollment in and completion of their skilled worker training program, and fill existing needs for skilled workers in the market. The program is created for three years, and the General Assembly is to appropriate a total of ten million dollars for the program.

Representative Williams and Representative Pabon responded to questions from the committee regarding efforts taken to avoid duplicating current workforce development efforts, projected spending on outreach, and other questions related to the bill.


02:02 PM -- Geri Anderson, Aims Community College, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Anderson spoke about the work Aims Community College does and the lack of awareness in middle skilled jobs. Ms. Anderson responded to questions from the committee regarding the construction industry and characteristics of programs that are unsuccessful.

02:08 PM -- Bud Starker, President of Starker Construction Company and representing Associated General Contractors (AGC), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Starker spoke about the construction industry and responded to questions from the committee regarding benefits of the public-private partnership, trends in the gap between worker demand and supply in the construction industry, impacts on the industry due to the shortage of workers, and cultural issues related to the worker shortage.

02:17 PM -- Antonio Ledezma, Jalisco International Inc. and representing Colorado Contractors Association (CCA), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Ledezma spoke about the work Jalisco International does, benefits provided to employees, and the inability to fill current open positions.

02:20 PM -- Dave Davia, Colorado Association of Mechanical and Plumbing Contractors and representing Building Jobs4Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Davia responded to questions from the committee.

02:35 PM -- Phil Hayes, Colorado AFL-CIO, Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Rocky Mountain Pipe Trades District 5, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Hayes spoke about the program outlined in the bill and responded to questions from the committee.

02:45 PM -- Jerry Migler, Vice President of the Colorado Community College System (CCCS), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Migler responded to questions from the committee.

02:55 PM -- Beverly Brown, Xcel Energy, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Brown spoke about current efforts being done by Xcel to recruit high school students and responded to questions from the committee.

03:01 PM -- Frank Waterous, Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Waterous provided a written copy of his testimony (Attachment A). Mr. Waterous spoke about the middle skills gap and the information gap that the bill works to address.

150319 AttachA.pdf150319 AttachA.pdf

03:06 PM -- Patrick Pratt, Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry (CACI), testified in support of the bill.

03:09 PM

Representative Williams listed other organizations that are in support of the bill, including the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

03:09 PM

Representative Navarro introduced amendment L.001 (Attachment B).

150319 AttachB.pdf150319 AttachB.pdf


03:10 PM

The committee took a recess.

03:37 PM

The committee reconvened.
BILL:HB15-1276
TIME: 03:37:35 PM
MOVED:Navarro
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:Nordberg
VOTE
Arndt
Garnett
Keyser
Navarro
Nordberg
Pabon
Rosenthal
Roupe
Tate
Thurlow
Winter
Kraft-Tharp
Williams
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Withdrawn


BILL:HB15-1276
TIME: 03:38:28 PM
MOVED:Nordberg
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Keyser
VOTE
Arndt
Garnett
Keyser
Navarro
Nordberg
Pabon
Rosenthal
Roupe
Tate
Thurlow
Winter
Kraft-Tharp
Williams
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

150319 AttachC.pdf150319 AttachC.pdf


03:40 PM

Representative Williams and Representative Pabon provided closing remarks on the bill.
BILL:HB15-1276
TIME: 03:41:41 PM
MOVED:Williams
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1276, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-3.
SECONDED:Pabon
VOTE
Arndt
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Keyser
No
Navarro
Yes
Nordberg
No
Pabon
Yes
Rosenthal
Yes
Roupe
Yes
Tate
Yes
Thurlow
No
Winter
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Williams
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:42 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

03:45 PM -- HB 15-1274

Representative Melton and Representative Garnett, sponsors, introduced House Bill 15-1274. The bill directs the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to coordinate multiple agencies and industries in the design of industry driven career pathways for critical occupations in growing industries. The CWDC will work with partners through the talent pipeline work group to define critical occupations and growing industries to determine which career pathways to design and in what order.

Representative Melton and Representative Garnett responded to questions from the committee regarding the fiscal note, comparison with House Bill 15-1270, and details regarding the business partnership summits outlined in the bill.

03:57 PM -- Geri Anderson, Aims Community College, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Anderson spoke about the impact career pathways have on Colorado students and responded to questions from the committee.


04:04 PM -- Bud Starker, Starker Construction and representing AGC, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Starker spoke about the benefits this bill would provide.

04:06 PM -- Antonio Ledezma, Jalisco International and representing CCA, joined Mr. Starker at the table and testified in support of the bill. Mr. Ledezma spoke about the difficulty in finding qualified workers in the construction industry and the impact the bill would have. Mr. Ledezma, Mr. Starker, and the bill sponsors responded to questions from the committee.

04:33 PM -- Jerry Migler, CCCS, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Migler spoke about CCCS and the system's role regarding career and technical education (CTE and responded to questions from the committee.

04:43 PM -- Phil Hayes, Colorado AFL-CIO, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Hayes and the bill sponsors responded to questions from the committee.

04:49 PM -- Frank Waterous, Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Waterous provided a written copy of his testimony (Attachment D).

150319 AttachD.pdf150319 AttachD.pdf

The committee was additionally provided written testimony from the Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education (Attachment E).

150319 AttachE.pdf150319 AttachE.pdf


04:54 PM

The bill sponsors introduced amendment L.001 (Attachment F).

150319 AttachF.pdf150319 AttachF.pdf
BILL:HB15-1274
TIME: 04:55:07 PM
MOVED:Garnett
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Williams
VOTE
Arndt
Garnett
Keyser
Navarro
Nordberg
Pabon
Rosenthal
Roupe
Tate
Thurlow
Winter
Kraft-Tharp
Williams
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

04:56 PM

The committee took a recess.

05:05 PM

The committee reconvened.


The bill sponsors introduced amendment L.002 (Attachment G).

150319 AttachG.pdf150319 AttachG.pdf
BILL:HB15-1274
TIME: 05:06:06 PM
MOVED:Garnett
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Kraft-Tharp
VOTE
Arndt
Garnett
Keyser
Navarro
Nordberg
Pabon
Rosenthal
Roupe
Tate
Thurlow
Winter
Kraft-Tharp
Williams
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


05:09 PM

Representative Melton and Representative Garnett provided closing remarks on the bill.

The committee provided closing remarks on the bill.
BILL:HB15-1274
TIME: 05:11:59 PM
MOVED:Garnett
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1274, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 8-5.
SECONDED:Kraft-Tharp
VOTE
Arndt
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Keyser
No
Navarro
No
Nordberg
No
Pabon
Yes
Rosenthal
Yes
Roupe
Yes
Tate
No
Thurlow
No
Winter
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Williams
Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:13 PM -- HB 15-1231

The committee took a brief recess.

05:15 PM

Representative Esgar and Representative Kraft-Tharp, sponsors, introduced House Bill 15-1231. The bill re-enacts the implementation of enhanced unemployment insurance compensation benefits for eligible unemployment insurance claimants that expired in accordance with a self-repealer clause in 2014. Enhanced unemployment insurance benefits are available to claimants who are enrolled and making satisfactory progress in an approved training program that will train them for a high-demand occupation, a more stable occupation, or a long-term occupation. An approved training program includes vocational training, a registered apprenticeship, or an entrepreneurial training program. The availability of the enhanced unemployment insurance compensation benefits will expire in accordance with a self-repealer clause on July 1, 2018.


The bill sponsors discussed the return on investment of this program and provided a handout to the committee with these calculations (Attachment H). The bill sponsors responded to questions from the committee.

150319 AttachH.pdf150319 AttachH.pdf

05:24 PM -- Pat Teegarden, CDLE, came to the table to respond to questions from the committee.

05:45 PM -- Jeff Weist, representing the Colorado Competitive Council and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Weist responded to questions from the committee.

05:52 PM -- Rich Jones, Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Jones provided written testimony to the committee provided in Attachment I. Mr. Jones responded to questions from the committee.

150319 AttachI.pdf150319 AttachI.pdf

05:59 PM -- Dawn Howard, Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, testified in support of the bill.
BILL:HB15-1231
TIME: 06:02:13 PM
MOVED:Kraft-Tharp
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Williams
VOTE
Arndt
Garnett
Keyser
Navarro
Nordberg
Pabon
Rosenthal
Roupe
Tate
Thurlow
Winter
Kraft-Tharp
Williams
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

150319 AttachJ.pdf150319 AttachJ.pdf





06:02 PM

Representative Kraft-Tharp and Representative Esgar provided closing remarks on the bill.
BILL:HB15-1231
TIME: 06:04:30 PM
MOVED:Kraft-Tharp
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1231, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 8-5.
SECONDED:Williams
VOTE
Arndt
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Keyser
No
Navarro
No
Nordberg
No
Pabon
Yes
Rosenthal
Yes
Roupe
Yes
Tate
No
Thurlow
No
Winter
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Williams
Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

06:12 PM

The committee adjourned.