Health Care, Family Leave Headline Colorado 2020 Session
DENVER (AP) — A state-supervised public option for Coloradans seeking health insurance and an ambitious family medical leave proposal headline Democrats' agenda for the 2020 legislative session starting Wednesday. Democrats who won control of both chambers in 2018 aim to build on legislation passed last year to extend health care coverage, lower rates and put a spotlight on hospital and prescription drug prices.
Minority Republican leaders are wary of more state involvement in insurance markets and any involvement when it comes to business leave offerings for their employees. Again, they will insist that Colorado's roads get their fair share of state spending without raising taxes.
Both sides profess a desire to avoid a repeat of a rancorous 2019 session in which Democrats overhauled regulation of the oil and gas industry and passed a "red flag" gun bill designed to remove firearms from persons deemed by a court to be a threat to themselves or others.
"I want to move past 2019," Senate President Leroy Garcia said on the eve of the session.
He cited Republicans' parliamentary filibusters last session, followed by a series of failed recall efforts against a handful of Democratic lawmakers.
"There are new ideas entering the system because we've cleared out the queue that had been sort of stacked up over four years of split power," said House Majority Leader Alec Garnett.
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has thrown his weight behind creating a state health insurance option complementing private plans. Some proposals could require hospitals and insurers to participate in some way.
Democrats also want to build upon a two-year reinsurance program, adopted last year, designed to reduce health insurance premiums by having state and federal funds cover high-cost individuals.
Colorado's largest business chambers fended off efforts to create a paid family leave program last year, questioning the cost to employers and workers and the fiscal soundness of the proposal.
A post-session study committee raised the potential price tag for a leave program to as high as $2 billion but left lawmakers to consider the amount of leave time available for workers as well exempting employers with their own leave plans from the program. Employer concerns persist about participation mandates.
The perennial debate over roads spending could take a few more twists this session.
Democrat Faith Winter, chair of the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee, has suggested allowing municipalities to craft their own transport spending programs. She also wants lawmakers to examine fees for electric vehicle users, especially commercial fleets, as well as ride-share firms. Voters repeatedly have rejected new state taxes for transportation.
House Speaker KC Becker and Majority Leader Alec Garnett anticipate legislation to strengthen industrial air pollution monitoring and lesser gun measures requiring reporting of lost or stolen firearms and ensuring safe storage.
By JAMES ANDERSON Associated Press
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