2019 Public Policy Results
A Win for Women in the Workplace
WFCO supported 18 bills in 2019, 16 of which passed. As a whole, the new laws propel women toward ecnomic security by making pay more equitable, high-quality child care and college more affordable and accessible, and full-day kindergarten free throughout the state. They prepare Colorado for paid family and medical leave, retirement savings systems, and a full and fair 2020 census; give Coloradans the opportunity to vote to improve our tax policies; and extend greater protections for student loan borrowers (two-thirds of the country's $1.46 trillion student debt belongs to women).
Elevating child care
HB 19-1005 - Income Tax Credit for Certain Early Childhood Educators: Provides an income tax credit to eligible early childhood educators.
HB 19-1013 - Income Tax Credit for Child Care Expenses: Those with incomes of $25,000 or less may claim a refundable state income tax credit for child care expenses for the care of a dependent who is less than 13 years old.
HB 19-1052 - Special Districts to Provide Early Childhood Development Services: Authorizes the creation of early childhood development service districts to provide services for children from birth through 8 years of age. Districts may seek voter approval to levy property taxes and sales taxes in the district to generate revenues to provide services that include early care and educational, health, mental health, and developmental services, including prevention and intervention.
HB 19-1164 - Child Tax Credit: This bill did not pass. The tax credit would have benefitted working families with children.
SB 19-063 - Infant and Family Child Care Action Plan: Requires the development of a strategic action plan addressing the declining availability of family child care homes and infant child care.
HB 19-1262 - State Funding For Full-Day Program: Allows for all school districts in Colorado to access funds for full-day kindergarten.
HB 19-1333 - Cigarette Tobacco & Nicotine Products Tax: This bill did not pass. It would have referred a ballot issue to the November 2019 statewide election for tax increases on cigarette, tobacco, and nicotine products to support healthcare and early education programs.
Making work work
HB 19-2007 - Employment Support Job Retention Services Program: Creates a program to provide emergency employment support and job retention services to eligible individuals in the state.
SB 19-173 - Colorado Secure Savings Plan Board: Creates a board of trustees to develop a plan for universal, automatic, portable, low-fee IRA, for employees without access to workplace plans.
SB 19-188 - FAMLI Family Medical Leave Insurance Program: Creates a study of the implementation plan of paid family and medical leave program that will explore a third-party administrator of the program, the health benefits of paid leave, the existing state-run paid leave programs, and an actuarial analysis.
Propelling opportunity
SB 19-002 - Regulation of Student Education Loan Servicers: Intends to give borrowers fair protections against predatory servicers, as well as the proper resources to make informed decisions on loan practices.
SB 19-085 - Equal Pay for Equal Work Act: Prohibits an employer from seeking the wage rate history of a prospective employee; relying on a prior wage rate to determine a wage rate; and discriminating or retaliating against a prospective employee for failing to disclose the employee’s wage rate history.
HB 19-1210 - Local Government Minimum Wage: Allows a unit of local government to enact laws establishing a minimum wage within its jurisdiction.
HB 19-1280 - College Savings Accounts: Creates a college kickstarter account to provide initial funding for each child born or adopted in Colorado beginning on January 1, 2020.
HB 19-1332 - Expand Supply Affordable Housing: Appropriates $40 million of unused funds to support grants and loans to provide affordable housing statewide.
Improve Colorado’s tax and budget policies
HB 19-1257 - Voter Approval to Retrain Revenue for Education and Transportation and HB19-1258 Allocate Voter-approved Revenue for Education & Transportation: Refer a measure to the ballot in 2019 to support public schools, higher education, and road, bridges, and transit in years where spending exceeds the TABOR cap.
Promote and protect issues and rights
HB 19-1239 - Census Outreach Grant Program: Creates a 2020 census outreach program to support the accurate counting of the Colorado population for the 2020 census.