Hello everyone,
Week two of the 2025 legislative session is in the books. As is typical, this was a relatively slow week for bills. So far, only four bills have passed out of committee, and none have been debated on the floor. Some of the highlights of the week include the following.
On Wednesday afternoon, the JBC met with representatives from Pinnacol Assurance, the Governor’s Office, and PERA to discuss the Governor’s proposed conversion of Pinnacol from a quasi-governmental to a private insurance company. In return for being Colorado’s workers’ compensation insurer of last resort (allowing high-risk industries to meet the legal requirement of maintaining workers’ comp for their employees), Pinnacol receives certain tax benefits and is subject to certain limitations (e.g., it cannot operate across state lines). Pinnacol argues that these limitations are impacting its competitiveness, and it must be privatized if it is going to survive. Pinnacol indicated it has lost 10,000 of its 60,000 customers over the past decade due primarily to the increase in remote work and not being able to cover employees in other states. Privatizing Pinnacol will allow the state to recoup its investment in Pinnacol that is estimated to be worth between $300 and $500 million. At a time when the legislature is facing an approximate $670 million budget shortfall this could seem appealing; however, this is the third time in the past 15 or so years that privatizing Pinnacol has come up and each previous time it has failed. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, and this is an issue we will be watching this session.
Also on Wednesday, the CSPA Board met and took support positions on two bills. The first, SB 036 State Patrol Bonding Exception, is a Colorado State Patrol agenda bill. Current law requires the State Patrol to secure a bond for each member of the State Patrol from the Chief to the newest trooper. Because the state is self-insured, the Patrol has been unable to find an issuance company willing to supply the necessary bonds. SB 036 would provide an exemption to the bond requirement for members of the State Patrol if the State Division of Risk Management insures them. SB 036 is currently scheduled to be heard in the Senate Business Committee on Tuesday, January 28th.
The second bill, HB 1052 Income Tax Credit for PERA Retirees, is basically the same bill the CSPA supported last year that failed to pass due to budget constraints. HB 1052 creates a $700 refundable income tax credit for tax years 2025 and 2026 for PERA retirees 65 and older who have annual gross income of no more than $38,000 for individuals (or $76,000 for joint filers). Like last year, given the budget situation, it will be very difficult to get HB 1052 passed. HB 1052 is currently scheduled to be heard in the House Finance Committee on Monday, January 27th.
On Thursday, the leaders of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe spoke to a joint session of the House and Senate. Both leaders celebrated their tribes’ relationships with the State of Colorado but also identified areas where they would like to see improvement. These areas included supporting a failed state constitutional amendment waiving the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, passing legislation giving full recognition of tribal courts’ arrest warrants outside of reservations, and strengthening the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs.
On Friday, the House and Senate met together to hear the annual resolution honoring The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Both the House and Senate will be closed today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
This week committees will continue with their preliminary hearings and briefings but will start hearing more bills and we should see some floorwork. So far, there have been 140 bills introduced – 84 in the House and 56 in the Senate. Only 108 more days until the General Assembly adjourns sine die.
Bill Skewes
Lobbyist