Connect & Collaborate's Election Review

Tune in for COBRT's Connect & Collaborate Radio's post-election show with Jeff Wasden, President of the Colorado Business Roundtable, as we review the ballot initiatives, how they did, and possible results of these voter decisions.

Jeff will be joined by:

• Kelly Sloan, Director of Government Relations at Olson Strategies and Advertising, for a statewide perspective on election results
• Steve House, Chair of the Colorado Republican Party, to discuss where the party goes from here
• Secretary of State Wayne Williams will provide us with a debrief of the overall election process and other related issues

This Connect & Collaborate show aired live the day after the election on Denver's Money Talk 1690 AM. If you missed that -- or if you heard it and want to pass it on to a colleague -- the podcast is available here. You can hit play right here, you can download it from here to listen to anytime, or you can subscribe to Connect & Collaborate on your favorite podcast app.

Get to Know Your November Ballot

Did you know that this year’s ballot is going to be the longest we’ve seen since 2010? That could be tough to navigate, but everyone’s vote matters. 

Colorado Business Roundtable is partnering with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and over 25 other organizations to bring you the U.S. Senate Candidate Forum on Monday, Oct. 17. We’ll give incumbent U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and challenger Darryl Glenn the opportunity to discuss key business issues such as economic development, job creation, immigration, tourism, workforce housing, water, energy, education and health care. The forum will be moderated by Denver Business Journal’s Ed Sealover. We’ll also talk about five important ballot items: Amendments 69, 70 and 71 and Propositions 107 and 108.

Reserve your seat for the forum so you can get all the details you need to navigate your November ballot. 

Here are the luncheon details:

Date: Monday, Oct. 17
Time: 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Networking & registration: 11-11:30 a.m.
Program: 11:30-1:30
Location: Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, 1400 Curtis St.

Please register as an individual or purchase a table at denverchamber.org/forum. 

Interested in joining as a partner? Contact [email protected] or (303) 620-8088.

Thank you for your support!

COBRT's Positions on 2016 Ballot Initiatives

This November, residents in the Denver metro area will be voting on ten different regional or statewide initiatives that will bring dramatic changes to Colorado if approved by the voters. In addition, voters will be voting on a new President, state Senator, and all seven members of Congress as well as numerous local issues. 

This year, 158 different titles were submitted to the Office of Secretary of State. Of those, nine proceeded with signature collection and turned in boxes and boxes of signatures for verification. 

Supported by COBRT:

• SCFD reauthorization. Regional issue for those within the district (seven metro counties) that would extend the penny-per-$10.00 sales tax. The allocation of funds has been tweaked to provide additional support for local community organizations. The economic activity of $1,850,000,000.00 make this a valuable asset and resource and worthy of our support. 
• Amendment 71, Raise the Bar. Raise the Bar aims to protect our state constitution and ensure the voice of all Coloradans is heard. Mandates that 2% of the signatures required to amend the constitution come from each of our state’s 35 senate districts and raises the threshold from 50+1 to 55+1. Every election cycle, businesses have had to dip into their wallets and fight off onerous, crippling initiates with signatures collected from a small subset of the state’s voters. Ensuring voters in Pueblo, Grand Junction, Fort Collins and other communities have a say in matters that impact the entire state makes sense. 

Opposed by COBRT:

• Amendment 69, ColoradoCare. Proponents are wanting voters to approve a government-run universal healthcare system that would double the size of the state budget and create a risky, uncertain, and untested system. The cost to business and placing Colorado at a competitive disadvantage warrant defeating the proposal. 
• Initiative 101, Minimum Wage Increase. Proponents would like to increase the minimum wage to $12.00. Colorado’s minimum wage is already above the national average and adjusts annually based on the underlying consumer inflation rate. We are concerned about job loss, wage compression, and the misconception that entry level, first-time job seekers need a living wage. We would like to create educational opportunities and training programs to help fill millions of unfilled jobs that pay above the living wage standard. 

Under Review by COBRT:

• Let CO Vote, Initiatives 98, 140. Initiative 98 would allow 1.3 million unaffiliated/independent voters to participate in party primaries and Initiative 140 would restore the presidential primary in Colorado. 
• Initiative 143, Cigarette and Tobacco Tax. Proposal would triple the cigarette tax and increase current tax on tobacco by 22%. Campaign for a Healthy Colorado argues this would slow tobacco usage with increased tax revenue being spent on education and prevention, cessation and research. 

No Position:

• Amendment T was a referred measure from Colorado’s legislature (SCR 006). The concurrent resolution strikes an exception that exists to slavery and involuntary servitude that exists in Colorado’s Constitution.
• Amendment U is another referred measure from the Colorado legislature (SCR 002). The concurrent resolution proposes amending the constitution to create an exemption from property taxation for possessory interests in real property.
• Initiative 145, Medical Aid in Dying. Initiative would allow doctors to write life-ending prescriptions for terminally ill who have less than six months to live and want to die on their own terms. 

SBA Office of Advocacy Hosts Federal Regulatory Roundtables in Denver, Colorado and Boulder, Colorado: August 9-11, 2016

The Office of Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration is holding several free small business roundtables in Denver, Colorado and Boulder, Colorado from Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 through Thursday, August 11th, 2016 to discuss current federal regulatory issues affecting small businesses in Colorado and throughout the nation.

Assistant Chief Counsel Janis Reyes and Regulatory Analyst Jonathan Porat, authorities in federal labor and immigration issues for small businesses, will talk about the new federal overtime rules and how current visa and immigration issues affect small business hiring. 

Assistant Chief Counsel Dillon Taylor and Regulatory Economist Lindsay Scherber cover tax, securities and pension issues. They will speak about new SEC crowdfunding rules along with other proposed tax and securities rules. 

This is an opportunity to hear about proposed federal regulations and recently enacted federal regulations from subject matter experts and ask any question small business owners and operators may have regarding their implementation.

The goal of SBA’s Office of Advocacy, as the voice of small businesses in the federal regulatory process, is to engage on key regulatory issues affecting small businesses throughout the country, listen to issues and concerns about how these regulations will impact small business operations and to take back ideas on how these regulations could better fit small businesses continued successful operation.

For more information and to register for the events, please see the below details.

Tuesday, August 9th | Denver, CO
Time: 5-6 pm MT
Location:  Community Hall, Mi Casa Resource Center, 360 Acoma St. Denver, CO 80223
Partner: the Mi Casa Women’s Business Center. For more information about the Women’s Business Center, please visit their website.
Focus of Roundtable:  Federal labor and immigration issues. Spanish translation services will be available.
Please register for this event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/federal-labor-immigration-issues-for-small-businesses-tickets-26811599215.

Wednesday, August 10th | Boulder, CO
Time: 9:30-11 am MT
Location: Boulder Creek Room at Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
Partner: the Boulder SBDC. For more information about the Boulder SBDC, please visit their website.
Focus of Roundtable: SEC crowdfunding rules and other proposed tax and securities rules
Please register for this event: https://clients.coloradosbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=50360136.

Time: 2-3:30 pm MT
Location: Boulder Creek Room at Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
Partner: the Boulder SBDC. For more information about the Boulder SBDC, please visit their website.
Focus of Roundtable: Labor and Immigration issues affecting small businesses.
Please register for this event: https://clients.coloradosbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=50360137.

Thursday, August 11th | Denver, CO
Time: 8-10 am MT
Location: 1600 Broadway, Suite 1600, Denver, CO 80202
Host: Colorado Association of Commerce & Industry (CACI). For more information about CACI, please visit their website.
Focus of Roundtable: Proposed and recently-enacted federal regulations that affect small businesses.
Please register for this event: http://cochamber.com/event/caci-host-sba-experts/.

Time: 1-3 pm MT
Location: Conference Room (Eighth Floor), 1625 Broadway, Ste. 2700, Denver, CO 80202
Partner: the Colorado SBDC Network. For more information about the Colorado SBDC Network, please visit their website.
Focus of Roundtable: Proposed and recently-enacted federal regulations that affect small businesses.
Please register for this event: https://clients.coloradosbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=900360054

From Taxes to Booze, a Crowded Ballot Could Await Colorado Voters

(DENVER) -- Ethics, elections and oil-and-gas are among the issues that could be on the November ballot.

Colorado allows citizens to put issues on the ballot after going through a process that includes reviews by staffers with the Secretary of State, the attorney general and Legislative Legal Services. These reviews do not determine the merit of the proposal, only if it meets state standards to attempt to get on the ballot.

The only measure already confirmed on the ballot is Amendment 69 or Initiative 20, State Health Care System. Backers were informed last November they had collected enough valid vote signatures to put what is known as "ColoradoCare" before the voters.  

The Secretary of State's website offers information about the proposed ballot measures and their status. Proponents of a majority of the measures face an Aug. 8 deadline to turn in 98,492 valid voter signatures, which is 5 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for Secretary of State in the last general election. Some measures would change Colorado's constitution, others are propositions and would change state law.

Here's a look at those issues where backers are circulating petitions:

Proposed constitutional amendments

• Local governance: No. 40 

• Independent Ethics Commission: No. 53

• Right to a Healthy Environment: No. 63

• Local government authority to regulate oil-and-gas development: No. 75

• Mandatory setback for oil/gas development: No. 78

• State minimum wage: No. 101 

• Colorado Redistricting Commission: No. 132 

• Colorado Legislative Redistricting Commission: No. 133

• New cigarette and tobacco taxes: No. 143

Proposed propositions

• Iran divestment of public funds: No. 47 

• Voter registration: No. 57

• Primary elections: No. 98

• Food store license: Nos. 104, 105 and 106

• Retention of excess state revenue: No. 117

• Food store license: No. 125

• Limits on specified liquor licenses: No. 126

• Primary elections: No. 142

• Minimum age for employees of specified liquor licenses: No. 157

# # #

Questions? Contact the Colorado Secretary of State's Office
Secretary Wayne H. Williams
Contact Us
MEDIA CONTACT: (303) 860-6903
Lynn Bartels
[email protected]