Weekly News from COBRT
LEADERSHIP. REACH. RESULTS.
May 9, 2017
KEY ISSUES RADIO/PODCAST VIDEOS EVENTS CONTACT
Education & Workforce

Notable Speakers

Governor John Hickenlooper, Colorado
 
Governor Steve Bullock, Montana
Chair, Education Commission of the States

Governor Dennis Daugaard, South Dakota

Allen Blue
Co-Founder & Vice President of Product Management, LinkedIn

David Scott
Senior Vice President at Walmart, America's largest employer

Denise Peppard
Chief Human Resources Officer, Northrup Grumman Corporation

Melody Schopp
Secretary of Education, South Dakota
President, Council of Chief State School Officers

Monique Rizer
Executive Director, Opportunity Nation

Kim Clark
Commissioner of Church Education, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Former Dean, Harvard Business School; Former President, BYU Idaho

Navdeep Bains
Canada's Minister for Economic Development

Jeffrey Armstrong
President, California Polytechnic State University

Zoe Baird
President and Chief Executive Officer, Markle Foundation

Matt Sigelman
Chief Operating Officer, Burning Glass Technologies

Mike Fenlon 
Chief People Officer, PwC 

Jake Schwartz 
CEO General Assembly
 
Jessi Gordon 
Gallup Education and Workforce Development 

...and many more!


Thursday, May 11, 2017 9:00 AM -
Saturday, May 13, 2017 2:30 PM (Mountain Time)

Denver Marriott City Center
(303) 297-1300
1701 California St
Denver, Colorado 80202

Register here (remember to use the discount code COBRT2017WPC for $100 off)
Immigration Policy
Join the Colorado Business Roundtable and the South Metro Chamber of Commerce as we recognize the incredible contributions that immigrants make every day in Colorado.

Keynote speaker: Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum and author of the newly released book,  There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration.
 
 Tax & Fiscal Policy
The Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index  enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states' tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much  is collected in taxes by state governments, the Index  is designed to show how well  states structure their tax systems, and provides a roadmap for improvement.

Colorado ranks 16th overall. Why? Explore the report to learn the criteria and compare states.

Read more and download the report here
SB17-267  is going to save the day for Colorado hospitals and open up breathing room in the rest of the budget for hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. Senate Minority Leader Lucia Guzman called it the most important bill of this session. Sen. Kevin Lundberg, a Berthoud Republican, called it "one of the worst pieces of legislation I've seen."

The bill has funding for rural roads, money for schools, higher taxes for marijuana users, higher co-pays for Medicaid patients, tax credits for small business owners and protections for older home owners. There is A LOT crammed in there.


Smart Regulation
Join COBRT, The Madison Coalition, and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) for a roundtable discussion on the Regulation Freedom Amendment.

The Regulation Freedom Amendment would end "regulation without representation" by permanently requiring that major new Federal regulations be approved by Congress. The Amendment would curb the power of Washington regulators to re-write the meaning of laws without the consent of Congress. The Amendment has been endorsed by a bipartisan group of more than 1,000 State Legislators, 7 Governors, and former Governors, including Mike Pence. 

"Colorado Senators voted unanimously to approve House Bill 1279 and move it to the desk of Gov. John Hickenlooper, who has said he will sign the measure. The 33-0 vote comes after the House similarly gave unanimous approval on April 24 to the bill sponsored by Reps. Alec Garnett, D-Denver, and Lori Saine, R-Dacono.

HB 1279 requires that a majority of condominium owners in a unit, rather than just a majority of homeowners association members, vote to move forward with any sort of legal action regarding construction defects with builders."

Economic Development
Economic development is a process that is strengthened by the critical partnership between economic development professionals and local and state government leadership to promote a shared vision for developing resilient communities.

Economic developers across the State cultivate and nurture entrepreneurship that helps to secure the next generation of new businesses, working in partnership with industries, brokers, educators and other key allies to foster an effective business climate and meet the increasingly critical need for a skilled and competitive workforce.

That's why Governor John Hickenlooper has proclaimed May 8 - 13, 2017, Economic Development Week in Colorado. 

Watch the video here

Immigrants and refugees in Aurora will have access to training, funding and guidance to launch their own small businesses through a first-of-its-kind collaboration between  Community Enterprise Development Services , the  Community College of Aurora , and the City of Aurora's  Office of International and Immigrant Affairs .
 
As part of the collaboration, CEDS created the Aurora International Impact Fund, committing a minimum of $95,000 for entrepreneurs enrolled in the program. CCA is providing business launch support for entrepreneurs through three-part Entrepreneurship program that includes: fast-track Boot Camp training, credit certificate and transfer degree programs, and incubator space with meeting, marketing and coaching resources.
 
Read more here
Denver International Airport (DEN) had its busiest March in the airport's history, with nearly 5.2 million passengers, the first March to ever surpass five million passengers. DEN has now seen nineteen consecutive months of record-setting passenger traffic.

Ninety percent of CEOs responding to a Business Roundtable survey say that delaying tax reform will harm the U.S. economy by causing slower economic growth, hiring and capital investment. Fifty-seven percent of the responding CEOs say delaying tax reform means their company will delay capital spending, the investment that drives jobs and growth. Fifty-six percent say their companies will delay hiring plans.

Successful reform, however, will mean more jobs, investment and growth in the U.S. economy, the survey finds. Eighty-two percent of CEOs say that reform will prompt companies to increase capital spending, and 76 percent will increase hiring, the CEOs report. Seventy-seven percent say reform will improve their company's global competitiveness.



On May 4, the House narrowly passed a controversial bill to overhaul the nation's health-care system by a vote of 217 to 213, however, the measure faces an uncertain future in the closely divided Senate.

The House passed bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority and several members have suggested they will develop their own plans. As the Senate begins to wrestle with a Republican healthcare bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has established a 13-member working group focused on passing legislation to repeal and replace the ACA. Meanwhile, Democrats are united in opposition to the House bill.

During the first 100 days of the new administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce traveled across the country to hear directly from America's job creators-small business owners. From Detroit to Atlanta, Chicago to Baton Rouge, American businesses are looking to Washington to create the policies that will spur economic growth across our country.

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  www.cobrt.com/radio and on your favorite podcast app the day after live airing.

Stream or Download These  Recent Episodes

See all at our events page and use this contact form to add yours!
5/8 - 5/13
National Economic Development Week - CO Office of Economic Development

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at Babson College (Info Session)

5/11 - 5/13
Western Pathways 2017

End Of Session ReviewColorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA)

5/15/17


5/16/17
World Trade Day 2017 - World Trade Center Denver 

5/17/17
Gaining the Upper Hand in M&AACG Denver

5/17/17
The Americas Executive Forum Luncheon - Chamber of the Americas

5/19/17
Why WiM with WiM Colorado - Women in Manufacturing


5/31/17

6/2/17
First Friday Event: Lean Office 101 - Manufacturer's Edge

7/10 - 7/14
CSBR Western Colorado Road Trip - Colorado Space Business Roundtable

8/21/2017
The Energy Conference: Cleaner, Better, Further, Safer  COGA

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