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LEADERSHIP. REACH. RESULTS.
March 26, 2019
One year after statewide voters rejected both a sales-tax hike and a bond-sale proposal that would have cut significantly into Colorado's $7.1 billion transportation-infrastructure backlog, a bipartisan trio of legislators will try to offer them a third option on the November ballot - allowing the state to permanently keep revenue that it brings in over its Taxpayer's Bill of Rights cap and put one-third of it to roads and transit. 

Thank you to everyone who came to the Moving Colorado Forward event. We appreciated hearing from our speakers and panelists on why transportation in Colorado is important and how we are moving forward to fixing the issues. See below a couple of quotes from our guests on transportation.


"Our state is at a crossroads in transportation. At the center of these crossroads Moving Colorado Forward has been an important convener in addressing transportation funding solutions. We can't solve the lack of transportation funding without first coming together to collaboratively address them. We are proud to be partners in Moving Colorado Forward." - Roberta Robinette, President, AT&T Colorado


"Coloradans are tired of sitting in traffic and dealing with a lack of transit options. We need to make responsible investments in infrastructure to help our workers, businesses and economy. We have made important down payments over the past couple of years, but there is still more to be done. One way where we can at least, in the short term, and at a modest amount, address this is by de-Brucing - that's why I've introduced a ballot measure to ask voters if the state can keep all the revenue we currently collect but aren't' allowed to use under our current spending cap." - Speaker KC Becker 

"COBRT continues to shine light on the critical need to fund Colorado's transportation system.  Our discussion provided critical insight into the economic implications of doing nothing." - Sandra Hagen Solin
Now that she has two-and-a-half months under her belt as the executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Betsy Markey has come up with three major areas of focus for her term moving forward: renewable energy, hemp and an increase in employee-owned businesses. Those areas - each of which were 2018 election priorities fro Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who named Markey among his first Cabinet appointees in December - are not all that the former congresswoman wants to do in her new position, but they represent the biggest changes in focus from the four people who held the job under former Gov. John Hickenlooper. She said that she also hopes to continue predecessor Stephanie Copeland's outreach to economically lagging rural areas, to push for more participation in the federal opportunity-zones tax-incentive program and to defend the state's film-incentive program, which is a frequent target of legislative attacks. 

Business Roundtable joined the Greater Washington Partnership (GWP) on Wednesday to discuss their collaboration to support skills development and training in the Washington area. The event highlighted the Business Roundtable Workforce Partnership Initiative, including GWP's Capital CoLAB, which is creating partnerships between business and education to develop the region's skilled workforce. Their work focuses on developing certificates in digital technology fields, meeting employers' workforce needs and giving students priority for internships and hiring. Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Ip moderated a panel discussion with Business Roundtable Chairman Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO of JPMorgan Chase; Wes Bush, Chairman of Northrop Grumman; Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President of American University; and Freeman Hrabowski, President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County. (See video, CNBC interview with Bush and Hrabowski.) Twelve CEOs joined the highly attended event.

Colorado business groups that largely missed the first legislative hearing on a paid family leave bill that was held last week during a blizzard came out in force Tuesday to challenge the assumptions of backers of the proposal, saying that the vast majority of small businesses oppose the plan, that a large number of businesses provide paid leave and that it also will be the workers of this state who end up paying heavily for this program. 

Winter has been hard on oil and gas companies in Colorado. After the noisy political battle of the fall, international oil prices fell sharply and pressure mounted on companies to show they were healthy after committing hundreds of millions to drilling new wells and building new infrastructure. Companies pumping oil and gas in northeastern Colorado's Denver-Julesburg Basin responded with record-setting amounts of oil and gas produced in the state, and the new wells companies planned to drill suggested higher volumes would be pumped in the months to come. 

Colorado Economic Development Commission members on Thursday approved a $27.9 million job-growth incentive tax credit offer - the second-largest ever made by the state - to try to attract the second headquarters of a San Francisco technology company focused on background checks that is considering bringing nearly 1,500 jobs to Denver. 

Following its meeting Thursday with President Donald J. Trump, Business Roundtable released a statement urging Congress to act this year to pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). "Business Roundtable supports following the Trade Promotion Authority process and will work closely with Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the Administration to build the necessary support to pass a USMCA bill that will sustain free trade in North America and open new markets for U.S. businesses and farmers," said Tom Linebarger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cummins and Chair of the Trade and International Committee.

On Tuesday, April 2nd from 7:45 am to 6:00 pm at Hilton Denver City Center the third annual Denver Cyber Security Summit will be taking place. This event connects C-Suite and Senior Executives responsible for protecting their companies' critical infrastructures with innovative solution providers and renowned information security experts. Each admission gives you access to all interactive panels, discussions, catered breakfast, lunch and cocktail reception. For a discounted rate please enter the code CBR95. 

Nominate an inclusive leader who exhibits one or more of the following characteristics. Our goal is for these qualities to become standard among leaders in the next decade so that a capable, diverse talent pipeline is not the exception, but the norm across industries and organizations.

Listen at KDMT 1690 AM Denver's Money Talk from 
4-5 p.m. Monday through Friday or  live stream online. Podcasts are available at  http://www.cobrt.com/radio-podcast and on your favorite podcast app the day after live airing.

Stream or Download These Recent Episodes

04/02/19

04/09/19
Progress and Potential: A Profile of Women Inventors on U.S. Patents
- Colorado Technology Association

04/11/19
State of Higher Education Forum - Colorado Business Roundtable 

05/17/19
Annual Members Meeting - Colorado Succeeds

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