By

Dan Pilcher

CACI Senior Vice President

& Chief Operating Officer

Phone: 303.866-9600

E-Mail: dpilcher@COchamber.com

Friday, February 16, 2007 -

Thanks to CACI Members Who Urged Governor Ritter to Veto HB-1072

We want to thank all CACI members who urged Governor Bill Ritter to veto HB-1072, the union-backed bill that would have torpedoed the Colorado Labor Peace Act.

In particular, we want to thank the members of the CACI Grassroots Action and Information Network (GAIN) for first contacting legislators and then the Governor’s Office, urging opposition to HB-1072.

If you are not a member of GAIN and would like to join, please contact Bonnie Finley, CACI Program Director, at 303.866.9643 or via e-mail at bfinley@COchamber.com

We also want to thank local chambers of commerce, which are CACI members, for opposing HB-1072, including:

Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce;

Colorado Chamber of Commerce Executives, which is affiliated with CACI;

West Chamber Serving Jefferson County;

Eagle Valley Chamber of Commerce;

Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce

Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce;

Greeley Chamber of Commerce;

Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, which is comprised of the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland Chambers;

Lafayette Chamber of Commerce;

Metro North Chamber of Commerce; and

Vail Chamber & Business Association.

CACI Plays Pivotal Role in Agreement to Reduce Mercury Emissions

The Air Quality Committee of CACI’s Environmental Council played a key role in brokering an agreement to cut mercury emissions in the state in advance of federal requirements.  The proposal was approved by the state’s Air Quality Control Commission on Feb. 6^th and must now be approved by Governor Ritter and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Rep. Anne McGihon (D-Denver), chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, was instrumental in bringing the parties to the table following a fierce battle over her bill last session that would have allowed the state to exceed federal air quality standards.  Although the legislature passed the bill, which CACI had opposed, then-Governor Bill Owens vetoed it.

“I want to acknowledge the pivotal role that the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry has played in bringing all the stakeholders to the table to forge a compromise on mercury standards,” McGihon said.

CACI’s Air Quality Committee worked closely with the environmental community to propose a compromise that requires coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury emissions by 80 percent by 2012 and requires mercury emission reductions of 90 percent for all sources by 2018.  Coal-fired power plants account for about 40 percent of mercury emissions in the United States.

Jim Sanderson, a CACI Air Quality Committee member, was quoted as saying “All the parties realized that if we could come up with something we all could live with, that was a better outcome.”  Sanderson is with the law firm of Ryley, Carlock & Applewhite, PA.

Governor Ritter issued a press release before the Commission met to consider the compromise:

http://www.colorado.gov/governor/press/february07/power-plant.html

CACI-Supported SB-97 Continues to Move Forward, Will Restore Funding from Tobacco Allocation Monies for CU-Denver and CU Health Sciences Center

On February 5^th, the bill was passed by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.  Ralph Pollock, chair of the CACI HealthCare Council, submitted testimony in favor of the bill to the Committee.

The bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 14^th and then passed the Senate this morning on Second Reading.  If it passes the Senate Monday on Third, and final, Reading, it will then go to the House for consideration.

In January, the CACI Board of Directors voted to support SB-97, which will allocate $17 million in tobacco-settlement funds to the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (HSC).

The HSC and its School of Medicine suffered substantial budget cuts in the years after the 2001 economic recession slump.  The new funding stream will help strengthen the HSC, which is critical for health-care and bio-medical research in the state.

The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald (D-Golden) and in the House by House Majority Leader Alice Madden (D-Boulder).  At least 11 other business organizations are also supporting the bill.

Controversial Union-Backed Bill to Mandate Hospital Nurse-Staffing Levels Dies, but Will Likely Be Resurrected

Sponsored by Senator Lois Tochtrop (D-Thornton) and pushed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), SB-10 would have required hospitals to develop and implement and make public a staffing plan that sets forth the minimum number of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and other personnel providing direct patient care required in each patient-care unit.

Tochtrop is a registered nurse, and the SEIU represents health-care workers.

This past Wednesday, all nine members of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, in an unusual move, voted to kill the bill.  The SEIU, however, has reportedly said it will push to have a new version of the bill introduced later in the session.

On February 1^st, testimony was taken by the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, which is chaired by Senator Bob Hagedorn (D-Aurora).  Ralph Pollock, CACI HealthCare Council Chair, and other opponents were not allowed to testify in opposition to the bill because of time constraints.

Representatives of major hospitals have told CACI President Chuck Berry that, if this bill had become law, it would have raised health-care costs for businesses because increased hospital costs would be eventually passed along to businesses in the form of higher health-insurance premiums

The bill would have mandated that hospitals develop and implement staffing plans that would stipulate a minimum number of nurses and “others providing direct patient care.”  In addition, the bill set forth the criteria for developing the plan and requires hospital management to take input from a staffing committee that includes nurses working in the hospital.

Hospitals would have had to file the plans with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and make them available to patients.  This information would then go into “hospital report cards” developed by the CDPHE.  Among the bill’s provisions was one authorizing the CDPHE to investigate allegations of violations and then fine, suspend or revoke a hospital’s license or certificate of compliance for a violation.

Among the various business groups, in addition to CACI, opposing the bill was the Colorado Hospital Association, which is a member of the Steering Committee of CACI’s HealthCare Council.

The Colorado Chamber of Commerce Executives (CCCE), which is affiliated with CACI, also opposed the bill.  For a newspaper editorial opposing the bill, visit the Web site of The Colorado Springs Gazette:

http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1329942&secid=13

Bill to Mandate Mental-Health Benefits for Employer-Provided Health Insurance Clears Senate Committee

SB-36, which would mandate that employer-provided health insurance be required to cover mental disorders, was passed by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on February 5^th on a party-line, 3-2 vote.  The bill is now resting in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Moe Keller (D-Wheat Ridge) is being pushed by the Mental Health Association of Colorado.  It is known as the “mental-health parity” bill.

CACI has historically opposed bills that would mandate additional coverage on employer-provided health-care benefits because it drives up the cost of insurance premiums for companies.

Current state statute says that insurance plans “shall provide coverage for the treatment of biologically based mental illness . . .”  The bill would add the phrase “ . . . and mental disorders . . .”

The mental disorders in the bill are defined in the ninth revision of The International Classification of Diseases, also known as ICD-9.  To learn more about the disorders, visit:

http://icd9cm.chrisendres.com/index.php?action=child&recordid=2134

Under mental disorders, this Web site lists for ICD-9 the following major categories: psychoses; neurotic disorders; personality disorders and other non-psychotic disorders; and mental retardation.  Under just personality disorders are such categories as anxiety; alcohol dependence;  obsessive-compulsive personality; and sexual and gender identity disorders.

CACI HealthCare Council Chair Ralph Pollock testified before the Committee in opposition.  Here are some of the points in an abbreviated version that he made in his prepared remarks:

This bill would cause a major expansion of benefits and costs at a time when employers are struggling to maintain existing benefits for their employees.  In eight states with mental-health parity, no employers have dropped their health plan.  Companies rarely drop their health plans--they just reduce benefits and increase the share that their employees pay.

As CACI members learn about SB-36, they are asking their heath plans for the probable impact--and learning that it will lead to at least double-digit premium increases.  One company reported that the increase will likely be 30 percent.

CACI Watching HB-1176, which Would Weaken Colorado Workers’ Compensation System

HB-1176 would allow an injured worker to change doctors within 90 days of the injury, provided the worker followed certain procedures, and the request could not be denied.

The bill is sponsored by Representative Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) and Senator Lois Trochtop (D-Thornton).  Assigned to the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee, the bill still has not yet been heard.

Opponents, including CACI, believe that this bill will increase costs on employers and delay the injured worker’s return to work.  The bill also will require the insurance company, or the self-insured employer, to provide the names of two “unaffiliated” doctors or one or more networks from which the worker could choose.  Current law allows for judicial relief for the small number of workers’ comp cases that can’t be resolved administratively.

For More Information on Bills . . .

CACI members with questions about legislation that CACI opposes or supports should contact Chuck Berry, CACI President, at 303.866.9601 or e-mail him at cberry@COchamber.com

Questions pertaining to the health-care policy 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

CACI’s Legislative Agenda is a complete listing of bills that CACI is lobbying, either in support or opposition.  The Legislative Agenda can be found on the CACI Web site, where it will be updated on a weekly basis.

www.COchamber.com

If you wish to track a particular bill’s legislative process, you can do so by going to the legislature’s Web site:

www.leg.state.co.us

“CACI in the News” Feature Added to CACI Web Site

We have added a “CACI in the News” page to our Web site lists recent newspaper articles that have mentioned CACI in some way:

http://www.cochamber.com/communications/news.asp

Current postings include many of the newspaper stories surrounding HB-1072 and its veto by Governor Ritter.

It also includes an Op-Ed article by Donnah Moody, CACI Governmental Affairs Vice President, who writes about her view, as a CACI lobbyist, of the many ironies of Amendment 41:

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5235641

CACI-Local Chamber Regional Meeting Set for Jefferson County March 2^nd

The next CACI-Local Chamber Regional Meeting is set for 7:30—9:30 a.m., March 2^nd, at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel, 360 Union Boulevard in Lakewood.  The host of the breakfast meeting will be the West Chamber Serving Jefferson County.

Although almost 90 people are expected to attend, there are a few seats left.  If you want to attend, contact Denise Reeves, CACI Vice President for Events and Programs, at 303.866.9622 or via e-mail at dreeves@COchamber.com

The meeting sponsors are CoorsTek and the West Chamber.  Jonathan Coors, Director of Government Affairs for CoorsTek, serves on the CACI Board of Directors.  Amy Sherman, the West Chamber’s President and CEO, serves on the CACI Board of Directors, representing the Colorado Chamber of Commerce Executives, which is affiliated with CACI.

The program will include the public–policy view from Denver West Chamber by its Board Chair, Bruce Walthers; a legislative update from Chuck Berry, CACI President; legislative developments in health-care policy by Ralph Pollock, chair of CACI’s HealthCare Council; and CACI’s role at the State Capitol by CACI Board Chair Lucille Mantelli of Eastman Kodak.

The first two CACI-Local Chamber Regional Meetings were held in Longmont and Grand Junction last fall.

CACI & Local Chambers of Commerce

About 30 local chambers of commerce across Colorado are dues-paying members of CACI.  A list of these chambers, with links to their Web sites, can be found on the CACI Web site under the “Business Resources” button.

CACI also houses and supports the Colorado Chamber of Commerce Executives (CCCE), a statewide association of local chamber executives, which provides CACI with policy input.  A CCCE representative serves on the CACI Board of Directors.  This representative is Amy Sherman, President and CEO of the West Chamber Serving Jefferson County.