Senate Passes Bill to Cut Red Tape and Help Colorado Businesses Grow

Wednesday, May 16 2012

Bill by Senator Jahn will help lower unemployment insurance premiums for employers

DENVER ─ Today, the Senate passed the bipartisan House Bill 1002 (formerly Senate Bill 177) as a part of the 2012 special session. Governor John Hickenlooper called the legislature back for a special session after House Majority Leadership allowed dozens of bills to die on the calendar in its effort to prevent a vote on Civil Unions last week. The newly named House Bill 1002, sponsored by Senator Cheri Jahn (D-Wheat Ridge), will save employers tens of millions of dollars a year on unemployment insurance (UI) costs, allowing them to invest that money to grow Colorado business.

Senator Jahn offered the following comment on House Bill 1002 today:

“This legislation helps provide employers in the state with more certainty by lowering their UI premiums and reducing the costs of doing business in Colorado. This bill will save money for the state and for employers, and creates an innovative way to save businesses money so they can hire new workers and reinvest their savings back into the economy.”

The Colorado Unemployment Insurance program provides temporary and partial wage replacement to workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own. Due to increased unemployment resulting from the recent recession, the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund became insolvent, requiring the state to borrow money from the federal government. The state is authorized to issue bonds to maintain the Fund. Employers pay for these bonds as a part their premium, but current law doesn’t allow these payments to improve employers experience rating.