Ayear after engineering a major policy shift in Colorado, the Democratic-led General Assembly returns to the state Capitol this week with much left on its to-do list.
Like the 2019 session, the question this year is how far the party will go in the 120-day lawmaking term to reshape how Colorado provides health care, education and transportation — and whether voters will approve of what they’ve done when the Democrats face a test in the November election.
“We did a lot last year. … I don’t think we are aiming to top that,” said House Speaker KC Becker, D-Boulder, in an interview ahead of the lawmaking term that begins Wednesday. “We are really focusing on a lot of new ideas.”
Meanwhile, Republicans are mum on their agenda and may once again use procedural tactics to delay Democratic-authored bills, a controversial approach that brought the 2019 term to its knees.
The topics expected to create debate cover a range of contentious issues, from new taxes and paid family leave to private prisons and vaccine requirements, and more in between.
Here’s a look at the 10 top issues and how they will play out in the 2020 session:
One of the most significant items leftover from the 2019 session is an effort to require businesses to provide paid family and parental leave to employees.
Last year, the Democratic authors of the bill had to settle for a study after failing to build enough support within their own party amid a barrage of opposition from 200-some lobbyists who worked against the bill.
The opposition from the business community remains fierce, and heading into the 2020 session, its prospects remain unclear. An actuarial study completed ahead of the session shows that creating a paid family and parental leave program with the most generous, 28-week proposal could cost the state up to $2.2 billion, potentially taking money from employers and out of every Coloradans paycheck.
It’s still not clear if bill proponents will seek to have the state or a third party run the program, and whether small businesses and local governments would be exempt.
“I feel optimistic about its chances for passage,” said Sen. Faith Winter, a Westminster Democrat who is one of the legislation’s prime champions. But, at the same time, Winter said proponents have not yet started drafting a bill. A task force that studied the issue plans to issue a report Wednesday.
Tony Gagliardi, executive director of the National Federation for Independent Business in Colorado, said he is still worried about the impact paid family and parental leave will have on small businesses. “The bottom line is this is still a mandate,” he said.