Bill Summary for Bill Number SB06-066

Date: 03/20/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-066

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.006 (Attachment C). The motion Moved to amend page 4, line 7 of the reengrossed b Moved to refer Senate Bill 06-066, as amended, to	Pass Without Objection PASS PASS

02:30 PM -- Senate Bill 06-066

Representative Todd, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 06-066 concerning parental involvement in kindergarten through twelfth grade education. Representative Todd discussed amendment L.006 that would significantly change the bill (Attachment C). The amendment would:

remove the definition of academic year;
change the number of employees a business must have to qualify as an employer under the bill from ten to twenty-five;
remove the requirement that an employer give its employees unpaid leave so they may attend an academic activity for or with his or her child, and replace it with a requirement that businesses adopt a policy or procedure allowing employees to take leave so the employee may attend an academic activity for or with his or her child; and
list what must be included in the policy or procedure an employer adopts.

02:41 PM

Christy Chase, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to committee questions about the number of employees a business must have to qualify as an employer under the bill and where that number came from. She also responded to a question about why the new section is going to be placed into Title 8 concerning labor and industry, and not under the Title 22 concerning education. Ms. Chase explained that since the bill places requirements on employers, Title 8 that deals with labor was the most appropriate place to put it. Representative Todd pointed out to the committee that 9 other states have similar laws.

02:46 PM -- Chuck Berry, president of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry (CACI) testified in opposition to the bill. He stated that the bill is a one size fits all mandate and stated that the vast majority of his members accommodate their employees for school activities of a child already. However, Mr. Berry stated that amendment L.006 would improve the bill and urged the committee to adopt the amendment.

02:53 PM -- Chris Howes, representing the Colorado Retail Council, stated that he was opposed to the bill as passed in the Senate. He stated that there were concerns about what constitutes a parent amongst other issues. Mr. Howes stated that amendment L.006 is supported because most the members already have a policy in place as required in the amendment.

02:55 PM -- Jim Noon, representing Centennial Container, testified in opposition to the bill along with amendment L.006. He stated that his company already works with its employees for time off and the bill is unnecessary. Mr. Noon added that the amendment makes the bill ineffective.

03:01 PM -- Tony Gagliardi, representing the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), testified in opposition to the bill. He stated that the NFIB agrees with most of the provisions in the bill, but the bill is still a mandate. Mr. Gagliardi explained that most employers already have policies in place that address time off for academic activities of a child or will work with an employee on a case-by-case basis if a request for time off is requested by an employee.

03:13 PM -- Virginia Morrison-Love, representing the Colorado Competitive Council, testified in opposition to the bill. She stated that the bill causes employers to put a policy down on paper and takes away their ability to be flexible in different situations. There was committee discussion about whether the bill would cause businesses to be less flexible.

03:22 PM -- Linda Meric, representing 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout (Attachment D). She gave some statistics about the impact of parental involvement on children and productivity on businesses. She said parents should not have to choose between being good parents and being good employees. Ms. Meric said that planned time off has a much less detrimental effect on coworkers and employers than unscheduled leave that parents end up taking when their employer has no policy. Ms. Meric responded to questions from the committee.

03:28 PM -- Jamie Sarche, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. She stated she came to testify on behalf of herself and on behalf of many parents who cannot miss work to testify. She responded to questions about the amendment and stated that she does not like that the amendment is so broad, but would rather see something pass rather than nothing.

03:31 PM -- Judy Bell, representing the American Federation of Teachers, testified in support of the bill. She spoke about the No Child Left Behind Act and the requirements within it that parents are unable to meet due to employers not having a policy in place for parents to attend their child's academic activities.

03:35 PM -- Eliza Cummings, an eleven-year-old representing herself, stated that the bill is important because people should not have to choose between work and their children. She told the committee that her parents' involvement in her education is very important to her. Miss Cummings stated that the bill would benefit businesses along with children. She responded to committee questions about where she attends school and where she resides.

03:39 PM -- Dara Burwell, representing 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout (Attachment E). The handout listed a number of situations where parents were disciplined for attending school activities for their child. She read a couple of them to the committee. Ms. Burwell discussed the amendment. There was committee discussion about the types of policies employers could adopt under the bill.

03:44 PM -- Kathryn Hammerback, owner of a child care center and representing the Colorado Child Care Association, testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	SB06-066
TIME:	03:46:56 PM
MOVED:	Marshall
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.006 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Paccione
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Borodkin
	Butcher
	Carroll M.
	Coleman
	Knoedler
	Liston
	McCluskey
	Paccione
	Penry	Excused
	Welker
	Cerbo
	Marshall
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB06-066
TIME:	03:49:12 PM
MOVED:	Balmer
MOTION:	Moved to amend page 4, line 7 of the reengrossed bill to insert "employed in Colorado" after the word employees, and strike the words "at the same time". There was discussion about the scope of the amendment. The amendment was adopted on an 11-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Marshall
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	McCluskey	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	Penry	Excused
	Welker	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Not Final YES: 11 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB06-066
TIME:	04:02:08 PM
MOVED:	Coleman
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 06-066, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 8-4.
SECONDED:	Paccione
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	Yes
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	Penry	Excused
	Welker	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS