Senators advance bill to collect data on heat- and cold-related workplace injuries

Senator Cutter urged the committee to support House Bill 26-12-72, saying Colorado should not let workers “risk getting sick, hurt, or not making it home because they worked on a dangerously hot or cold day.” The bill, she said, has been narrowed to require the Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to gather better data on temperature-related workplace injuries and to produce a model temperature-related injury and illness prevention plan for employers and workers.

The sponsors framed the measure as an initial, nonpunitive step. Senator Weissman told the committee the bill directs the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics and CDLE to pull together information from workers’ compensation, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and health claims databases so the state can “start building a better unified awareness of what having to work in conditions of excessive heat and excessive cold is doing to folks.” He said the model plan will be voluntary and flexible, listing basic elements such as access to drinking water, cool-down or warm-up areas, acclimation procedures, and training to recognize warning signs.

Opponents from the outdoor and business sectors urged caution. Peep Van Heuven, director of government affairs for Colorado Ski Country USA, said his industry has not seen a pattern of cold-weather medical emergencies and warned that a state-created model “sets new state standards” that could be ill suited to outdoor-recreation operations. Parker White of the Colorado Competitive Council argued the bill “presupposes an outcome” by directing a one-size-fits-all plan before occupation-specific data are gathered.

Labor and worker-advocacy witnesses urged the committee to move the bill forward. Ian Thomas Tafoya of Green Latinos and Alex Sanchez, who said he represents a coalition of 30 organizations, described Latino and other workers’ overrepresentation in outdoor and seasonal jobs and urged better reporting pathways. Tyke James of Conservation Colorado and Vanessa Martinez of CÓLORD said the measure will help identify injuries that now go unreported and provide employers and workers with practical prevention tools. Martinez cited an argument about gaps in coverage, saying “more than 280,000 Coloradans will lose health coverage this year,” a point supporters said heightens the need for prevention and reporting.

After testimony and brief questioning about agency compliance, the committee moved the bill to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The clerk’s recorded tally showed the motion passed 3 to 2.

Next steps: HB26-12-72 is on its way to the Appropriations Committee for further consideration.