{"id":10935,"date":"2016-03-22T20:35:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T20:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vailvalleypartnership.com\/?p=10935"},"modified":"2016-03-22T20:35:43","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T20:35:43","slug":"state-legislative-issues-impact-our-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vailvalleypartnership.com\/2016\/03\/state-legislative-issues-impact-our-community\/","title":{"rendered":"State legislative issues impact our community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colorado\u2019s economy is on quite the roll. A quick review of AdvanceColorado.com, the state\u2019s economic development website, shows high rankings for Colorado\u2019s workforce (best state for labor supply, Forbes; highest number of people with bachelor\u2019s degrees, US Census Bureau), our business environment (4 of the top 10 cities for tech startups, Entrepreneur; top state for high-tech share of all businesses, US Chamber of Commerce), and of course the advantages of our lifestyle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s business climate is of particular interest. Business Insider ranked Colorado as the most economically competitive state, and Forbes ranked Denver as America\u2019s best place to do business and Colorado as the best state for business and careers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

USA Today notes that Colorado’s business climate is among the best in the country largely due to a strong labor market and an especially strong and progressive technology sector. These features are interwoven together as a highly educated workforce is essential for innovation. Nearly 38% of adults in Colorado have at least a bachelor’s degree, the second highest rate nationwide, and 14% of adults have completed a graduate or professional degree, a higher percentage than in all but a handful of states. The state’s population is projected to grow by 13.4% from 2010 through 2020 versus an estimated national growth rate of 7.1%, which also contributes to a strong labor market. Nearly 22% of all jobs in Colorado were STEM positions, the seventh highest proportion in the country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A strong business environment is vital to the state, and to our community, because as noted by 24\/7 Wall Street, and according to Elise Gould, senior economist with nonprofit think tank the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), \u201cmost people move because of jobs.\u201d Indeed, for many families on the move, the prospect of obtaining a job is often the most important \u2014 if not the only \u2014 consideration.
\nMaintaining a strong business environment is a challenge in Colorado as our state constitution is easily changed through the initiative process. Between 1996 and 2014, an average of nine measures appeared on the ballot during even-numbered election years in Colorado. Additionally, our government (state and local) needs to continue to focus on legislative issues that ultimately benefit our business community.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A few issues our business community should be aware of:<\/p>\n

The House Appropriations Committee<\/a> recently passed HB-1275<\/a>. HB-1275 would empower the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) to \u201cblack list\u201d countries that it alleges are \u201ctax havens.\u201d\u00a0 Colorado corporations with subsidiaries or affiliates operating in these countries would then have to prove to the DOR that their operations are legitimate business activities and not attempts to shelter income from the Colorado corporate income tax.<\/p>\n

On a state-wide basis, this legislation makes Colorado\u2019s tax climate appear punitive and would put us at a disadvantage relative to other states.<\/p>\n

No joke: House Bill 1275 will not make Colorado a better place to do business, which will cost us jobs and continued economic growth. This is a case of politics trumping quality policy-making in the best interests of the state and our business community<\/p>\n

Workforce development is key to continued economic growth in Colorado and locally within the Vail Valley. The following are four bills of a workforce package that aim to start a pilot program to provide pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities through high schools to address the business communities growing talent demands.<\/p>\n

HB16-1287<\/a>– CDLE Pre-apprenticeship & Apprenticeship Study, requires the CDLE to conduct a study of what laws and regulations may impact the ability of employers to offer pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities.<\/p>\n

HB16-1288<\/a>\u2013 Industry Infrastructure Grant Program, creates a matching grant program, funded up to $500,000 a year for three years, for trade associations or other not-for-profits to develop generally accepted industry-specific competencies for apprenticeship programs, so that apprentice programs offer consistent and useful training.<\/p>\n

HB16-1289<\/a>\u2013 Incentives to Complete Career Development Courses, creates a pilot program to provide an incentive of $1,000, funded at $1 million per year, to high schools for each student that completes an industry certificate, internship or pre-apprentice program in high-demand industries.<\/p>\n

HB16-1301<\/a> \u2013 Business Income Tax Credit Offer Apprenticeships, <\/strong>provides qualified employers with state income tax credits for retaining pre-apprentices (up to $2,500) and apprentices (up to $5,000), for a total of $1 million a year.<\/p>\n

No joke: these workforce bills will help improve the connection between our school systems and the business community, creating opportunities for career pathways and skilled labor.<\/p>\n

Vail Valley Partnership will continue to report to the local community and our members on issues of importance. We are especially focused on issues related to workforce (affordable) housing, transit (air and road), workforce development, and rural broadband. Learn more about our efforts at VailValleyPartnership.com<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado\u2019s economy is on quite the roll. A quick review of AdvanceColorado.com, the state\u2019s economic development website, shows high rankings…
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1831,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-presidents-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nState legislative issues impact our community | Vail Valley Partnership<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vailvalleypartnership.com\/2016\/03\/state-legislative-issues-impact-our-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State legislative issues impact our community | Vail Valley Partnership\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Colorado\u2019s economy is on quite the roll. 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