Unemployment trust fund highest legislative priority

DENVER — Just months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado blew through its $1.1 billion unemployment insurance trust fund reserve.

Now, as the economy improves and the 2022 Colorado legislative session kicks off this month, elected officials and business leaders are navigating how to bring the rainy day fund back into the black. 

One way to is vastly increase the surcharge businesses pay into the fund — a non-starter for many business leaders.

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Another is to build repayment into the state’s budget to be paid for, at least in part, from federal COVID-19 funds. Gov. Jared Polis has proposed putting $600 million toward the cause. 

The Boulder Chamber is “enthusiastically in support” of Gov. Jared Polis’ plan to bolster the trust fund with federal disaster aid dollars, Boulder Chamber CEO John Tayersaid.

“At a time when businesses are looking to bring back the workforce that they need, it could be crippling if they have an enormous additional cost associated with paying back the unemployment insurance trust fund,” he said.

Northern Colorado business groups agree and have pushed to use even more federal funding to fill the unemployment insurance trust fund gap.

“From a proactive perspective, the unemployment insurance trust fund is of the highest priority for the business community of Northern Colorado and across the state,” said Sandra Solin with the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance. “It’s essential that it is addressed in a meaningful way during the legislative session to ensure that businesses aren’t burdened with additional obligations.”

State leaders ought to “address [the trust fund] through [American Rescue Plan Act] funds or state coffers, which is an equitable approach to responding to economic concerns across the state,” she said.

In further support of bolstering the workforce, Tayer said his group will “put our shoulder to the wheel” in support of transportation improvements and broadband internet infrastructure initiatives.

“We recognize that connectivity, whether it’s through workforce mobility or the ability for our businesses to access high-speed internet in a remote work environment, is increasingly critical,” he said.

With the start of the new session, the Boulder Chamber “intends to take a much more active role in speaking on behalf of our business interest at the state Capitol. That’s because we recognize that many of the regional business issues that impact our community are affected by state policy, and we want to make sure we’re actively following,” Tayer said.

He added: “We have an excellent working relationship with our state delegation and our delegation is made up of effective leaders at the statehouse.”

An example of local officials in top positions of power is Sen. Steve Fenberd (D-Boulder), the majority leader. 

These powerful local players “make for great partners in addressing our issues,” he said. 

In Northern Colorado, where agriculture and energy play a much larger role in the economy, elected officials tend to be more conservative and have recently found themselves in a position of attempting to fend off increased regulation.

Over the summer, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment backed off its push to implement a Employer Traffic Reduction Program, which would have required certain companies to incentivize alternatives to car-based commuting. 

“The state recognizes that many of the businesses, employees, and local communities that will be impacted by the rule have concerns about the Employer Traffic Reduction Program (ETRP) as currently proposed,” CDPHE said in a July statement. “Recognizing these concerns, the department will revise its ETRP proposal to first focus on data gathering components to establish a strong baseline for future policy paired with setting a strong foundation through a voluntary trip reduction approach.”

Solin said the NCLA will continue to oppose such measures should they be raised again during the legislative session, a possibility that appears quite likely.

“There are a couple of legislators who desire an approach that could be very problematic for employers,” she said. 

Beyond the trip reduction program, transportation issues remain front of mind for business groups heading into the session.

Solin said certain new environmental standards for road improvement projects could stymie much-needed capacity expansion efforts. 

“We will be very active in ensuring that in our region, the implications of this rule set are minimized to ensure the completion of Interstate 25 [expansion] from north to south,” she said.

The recent Marshall Fire in Boulder County highlighted the need for capacity improvements on the region’s highways, Solin said. 

“From an evacuation perspective, the fire demonstrated the importance of these roads and the use of cars to move people around,” she said. 

Overall competitiveness in what Solin described as an increasingly regulated economy is “creating perhaps a less than friendly environment for business in Colorado.”

Regardless of their position on individual policies, business groups in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado stressed that now, in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to strengthen relationships with elected officials.

“We need to continually make sure that our economy is resilient in the face of challenges like COVID,” Tayer said. “That means having business interests at the table in constructive dialog.”