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January 16, 2020
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Battle lines drawn for legislative session Transportation, gas tax, less-known Labor Peace Act emerge as top 2020 contention points BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In Colorado’s second year of total statehouse control by Democrats after the 2018 election, one top Republican is hanging onto his optimism. “I know the constitution very well,” said Chris Holbert, state Senate minority leader. “I take some level of positive outlook on I know how this game must be played and not be played.” Colorado has a long history of bipartisan cooperation, Holbert said in a phone call ahead of the Jan. 8 kickoff of this year’s state legislative session, the roughly four-month period in which bills are passed. State House Speaker K.C. Becker sounded similar notes, saying her Democrats constantly try to shape bills in a bipartisan way despite their wide majority. For all the talk of cooperation, though, the state Legislature is headed for friction on both well-worn fights — such as transportation funding and health care costs — and lesser-known nuggets, including the state’s Labor Peace Act, which affects how workers decide to form unions. Another defining issue for Democrats will be paid family leave, a proposal that returns this year after lawmakers in 2019 approved a study on how it would work. Here’s a look at what both sides are saying about those issues and how they may play out in this year’s session. Gassed up The multi-billion-dollar shortfall at the Colorado Department of Transportation rolls onward, and Holbert,
From left, House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, Senate Assistant Minority Leader John Cooke, House Speaker K.C. Becker and Senate President Leroy Garcia on stage at the annual Business Legislative Preview. The Jan. 7 event in downtown Denver was hosted by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Colorado Competitive Council, a business advocacy organization. ELLIS ARNOLD
the state senator from Parker, argues the state has enough money in its current revenue structure to pay a large amount down each year. “We want the minimum each year to be $300 million for transportation,” Holbert said, adding he’d like that amount to go toward paying back bonds, or debt that governments take on to pay for long-term projects. Becker, of Boulder, took issue with the characterization that the state hasn’t recently prioritized transportation funding enough. “Our transportation was initially
intended to be funded by the gas tax,” Becker said in a phone call. That’s important “especially given that the state picks up a greater and greater share of K-12 education than it did 30 years ago.” A dollar in gas tax revenue today was worth much more decades ago when the tax was first passed, Becker said. One idea is to tie the tax — which has long sat at 22 cents per gallon — to inflation. It’s unclear exactly how much more money that would pull in: Over a few decades, it would garner somewhere
in the billions, Becker said. It isn’t a total solution on its own, but “it stops the bleeding,” she added. Holbert currently opposes a gas tax increase, arguing the state already pulls in enough to pay for transportation if it chose to, but he said an increase would likely have bipartisan support. “I’ve heard from voters, even in Douglas County, who say if you want more transportation money, do it through the gas tax,” Holbert said. SEE SESSION, P3
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
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