Dear Members of the Colorado State Legislature,

Please, pump the breaks. Take a breath and do what we were all taught in elementary school, and “just say no.” The onslaught of anti-business bills being ran this year, many borne out of election-year politicking, is threatening the Colorado so many know and love. During the reason committee hearing on HB-1275, the tax haven bill, Metro Denver EDC Chair Tom Clark testified that this bill would set us back as a state and put us at a competitive disadvantage. Representative Priola mentioned that this bill would work against the direct efforts of Governor Hickenlooper and Fiona Arnold, Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

Colorado was just listed as the number three state for business by the Wall Street Journal. While there is a lot to be celebrated, there are certainly warning signs and areas of concern. Number one on the list was Utah (again). Governor Herbert, Utah has made it a personal mission to remove burdensome, outdated regulations off the books (342 in one year), and the Olympics provided important infrastructure enhancements. Of significant note was the announcement on Feb 26th highlighting the creation of the newly formed Utah Chapter of Aerospace States Association. The South Metro Denver Chamber just hosted an economic development meeting on our aerospace industry, and Colorado Business Roundtable recently had Colorado’s Aerospace Champion Major Gen. Jay Lindell and Edgar Johansson from the Colorado Space Business Roundtable on its Connect and Collaborate radio. The aerospace industry in Colorado is vibrant, growing, and drives significant economic impact to the state. Is our state legislature willing to put that at risk knowing that Utah and other states would welcome any of our prime companies with open arms?

During its Legislative Reception prior to the start of the session, COBRT President Jeff Wasden challenged the business community to stop asking legislators what are their five bills for the year (as each legislator can run five bills with some exceptions each year). Instead, the questions we should be asking are “What priorities do you have for this session?” and “How can you ensure the proper role of government to help Colorado families and businesses this year?” Instead, we get hit with the tax haven bill, equity pay bills, minimum wage bills, paid mandatory sick leave bills, and others. Couple those with proposed ballot initiatives like single-payer healthcare and statewide energy bans and it is no wonder business always feel under attack and playing defense.

Colorado has evolved since the 80’s. The Metropolitan Revolution by Katz and Bradley highlights significant milestones in the evolution of the metro Denver region and the center-city hub—aggressive annexations, the rise of Denver International Airport, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, and FasTracks. Today, the Denver metro region is home to corporate headquarters for companies like DaVita, Ball Corp, Arrow Electronics, CH2M, Western Union, Level 3, Newmont Mining, and Dish. Our economy boasts a strong, diversified portfolio from bioscience, renewable energy, aerospace, financial services, health and wellness, creative industries, and engineering. We have an educated workforce, favorable climate, and amazing outdoors in which to recreate.

The State of California has long been one of our strongest recruiting tools as overreaching policies have driven off company after company. We should all take note, because business is much more mobile, states are actively competing for companies, and policies matter. Let’s focus on what is important for our ongoing economic prosperity and wellbeing—finding conservative ways to fix our broken transportation funding, critical investments in infrastructure, ensuring all students have access to a quality education, and working with business instead of against business.

Jeff Wasden, President, Colorado Business Roundtable
Robert Golden, President/CEO, South Metro Denver Chamber

Printed at The Colorado Statesman and Denver Business Journal

By Jeff Wasden, President
Colorado Business Roundtable

In President’s Obama’s State of the Union address on January 12, 2016 he won a vigorous – and bipartisan – standing ovation with a few simple words about the economy and regulation.

“I believe a thriving private sector is the lifeblood of our economy,” the President declared. “I think there are outdated regulations that need to be changed, and there’s red tape that needs to be cut.”

The Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT) agrees with President Obama on this point. The challenge now is to turn that clear statement of principle into action with real legislation that Congress can pass and the President will sign.

Regulatory reform is critical to our economic vitality. According to a 2014 study by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, federal regulation and intervention cost American consumers and businesses an estimated $1.88 trillion in lost economic productivity and higher prices.

The COBRT has been active locally in working to pass the Regulatory Reform Act. Later this year, together along with the NFIB, we will host the American Opportunity Project and the Regulation Freedom Amendment which looks to rein in the current burdensome regulatory processes imposed by bureaucrats and allow for congressional oversight.

Can Congress come together and create legislation that generates bipartisan support and actually has some teeth in reducing burdensome regulation? There is real optimism this can be accomplished. A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is currently attempting to develop such legislation. They are working on a proposal that would improve the process for developing new regulations that breaks the status quo and the regulatory mess we find ourselves in now. Regulations would then achieve their goal of protecting people and the environment, while cutting the red tape that makes it so hard for businesses to invest, hire and compete.

The draft proposal, the Regulatory Improvement Act, builds on recommendations made by a number of independent groups whose primary interest is in seeing that federal regulation works both effectively and efficiently. The Regulatory Improvement Act represents a major update of the 70-year-old process by which federal agencies write the regulations that affect Colorado’s citizens and businesses so dramatically.

For example, the proposal would require agencies that issue major regulations – those with an economic impact of $100 million or more – put a plan in place to assess whether the regulation is doing what it was intended do when it was issued. Quite simply, agencies have to answer the question: Is the regulation working?

Americans would also gain a bigger voice in the regulatory process. Today, agencies often propose major rules without giving much notice ahead of time, forcing everyone potentially affected to scramble in response. The process shortchanges the public, who may have good ideas to offer, and ultimately produces regulations that may not achieve their intended goals in the most efficient and effective way possible. The Regulatory Improvement Act would address this issue by requiring federal agencies to publish advance notice that they will be working on a new regulation that would have a major impact on the economy.

The bill would also require so-called independent agencies – like the SEC and Federal Communications Commission – to adopt the same kind of sound regulatory development practices that Cabinet agencies must follow. For example, right now, these agencies aren’t required to conduct a full and objective cost-benefit analysis when proposing a regulatory solution. Some do, but there is no guarantee that the agency will take the same time as say, the Department of Defense, to determine whether their proposal will achieve its objectives in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Colorado’s businesses are not opposed to all regulation. But, like the public, we believe that regulations should meet their intended goal of protecting people and the environment in the smartest way possible. Improving the process for issuing new regulations so that they meet their objectives, without creating duplication or unnecessary red tape is good public policy. The Regulatory Improvement Act would do just that, and the Colorado Business Roundtable believes such bipartisan reform could make a big difference.

Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT) is a prominent advocate for proactive, positive legislation that strengthens the economy and allows businesses to grow and thrive in Colorado and the region. Through strategic alliances with great groups of industry leaders, chambers of commerce, educational institutions and governmental bodies, our goal is to improve the business environment, increase effectiveness, and expand the networks of our partners.

www.cobrt.com/radio
www.facebook.com/ColoradoBusinessRoundtable
twitter.com/ColoradoBRT