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By
Dan Pilcher
CACI Senior Vice President
& Chief Operating Officer
Phone: 303.866-9600
E-Mail:
dpilcher@COchamber.com
Friday, March 28, 2008
NOTE:
Today marks the 80th day of this year’s session
of the Colorado General Assembly, which means
that lawmakers have marched two-thirds of the
distance towards the required end of the
session. The Colorado Constitution mandates
that a session can last no more than 120 days.
The deadline for the 2008 session to conclude
“sine die” is Wednesday, May 7th, but the
legislature may adjourn a few days earlier, as
it has in recent years. The legislature this
week has been preoccupied with the state budget
and, consequently, little action has been taken
on other legislation.
CACI Board Takes
Neutral Position on Draft Single-Sales Factor
Bill
Yesterday morning, the CACI Board of Directors
adopted a neutral position on the single-sales
factor bill draft, whose introduction has been
delayed. The Single Sales Factor Subcommittee
of the CACI Tax Council had recommended a
neutral position because some members oppose the
bill, some support and others remain neutral.
CACI anticipates that the bill will be
introduced early next week and quickly
calendared for a committee hearing. CACI will
keep its members apprised of the scheduling of
that hearing. CACI will also notify its members
when the bill is introduced and place a pdf of
the bill on the CACI Web site.
On the Severance Tax
Issue, CACI Keeps Its Powder Dry for the Time
Being
Yesterday, the CACI Board of Directors agreed
not to support any of the various proposed bills
to raise severance taxes. A bill would become a
referendum if passed by the legislature, and it
then would have to be approved by the voters at
the November election. These different
proposals would allocate funds for such purposes
as higher education, renewable energy
development, wildlife habitat and to help
communities affected by energy development.
The Board decided to wait to see which measures
will be placed on the November ballot and then
determine whether or not CACI would take a
position on the measures. The CACI Board noted,
however, that it is concerned about attempts to
increase taxes on one particular business sector
because it appears to be politically expedient
to do so.
In recent days, there has been an explosion of
news coverage about this issue; here is a
sampling just from The Rocky Mountain News
and The Denver Post:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/27/up-in-air-higher-severance-taxes/
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/21/proposal-aims-to-raise-taxes-on-oil-gas-industry/
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/24/a-better-severance-plan/
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_8696985
http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_8707076
Senator Mitchell
Speaks to CACI Board
At the CACI Board meeting yesterday, Senator
Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield) spoke about the
current legislative session. He also urged the
CACI Board of Directors to support the proposed
right-to-work initiative, Number 41.
Mitchell pointed out that organized labor has
been very active during the session, pushing
numerous bills that would increase mandates on
employers and raise the cost of doing business.
For example, unions are seeking a greater role
in health-care management, he said.
The Senator also reviewed health-care issues in
detail. He explained that he is sponsoring
SB-135, which has been endorsed by the CACI
HealthCare Council. Mitchell said the bill
would reduce administrative overhead costs by
having Coloradans use a standardized card that
contains their health-care information. The
bill is awaiting Second Reading in the Senate.
For More Information
on Legislation . . .
CACI members with questions about legislation
that CACI opposes or supports should contact
Chuck Berry, CACI President, at 303.866.9652
or e-mail him at:
cberry@COchamber.com
Questions pertaining to health-care bills should
be directed to Ralph Pollock, Chair of
the CACI HealthCare Council, at 303.866.9657 or
via e-mail at:
ralph@apaccess.com |
