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Joint Budget Committee grants staff authority to draft CDLE UI funding realignment bill, over one objection
Summary
The committee voted to let staff work with OLLS and stakeholders to draft legislation to expand and realign unemployment insurance funding into an enterprise structure; the motion passed 5‑1 amid concerns from one senator about complexity and communication.
Craig Harper, JBC staff, and CDLE staff asked the committee for permission to begin drafting legislation to expand and realign unemployment insurance (UI) funding under an enterprise model. Committee members said prior UI proposals were difficult to explain to caucuses and that careful drafting and outreach were necessary.
The proposal described to the committee would move certain centrally‑appropriated costs out of the General Fund and into a TABOR‑exempt enterprise fund, freeing General Fund dollars in the near term. Members noted legislative history of prior UI bills and asked for assurances that drafting would avoid perceived attempts to circumvent TABOR. CDLE and JBC staff said they would take care with the statutory language and communications.
Senator Kirkmeyer expressed strong reservations about both the timing and the complexity of the prior bills and said his caucus found them hard to support in earlier years. After discussion, the committee voted to give staff authority to draft the bill and to work with stakeholders; the motion passed 5‑1 with Senator Kirkmeyer objecting.
The committee did not adopt draft text on the floor; staff will draft and return to committee with language and fiscal estimates for figure setting and further review.
