Economic Opportunity

Employment Opportunity Act

Senate Bill 13-018

Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research

Testimony to the House Business, Labor,
Economic & Workforce Development Committee

March 7, 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Colorado Work Share Program

SB13-157

Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research
Testimony to the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee
Feb. 25, 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to testify to the committee.

By Kathleen Hallgren
My Side columnist, Glenwood Springs Post Independent

It's been said that the best anti-poverty measure is a job. But for more than a quarter of Colorado's workforce, working hard isn't enough to make ends meet.

In a recent report, we found that more than 48,000 working families in Colorado lived below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four in 2011. Another 154,085 families – 27 percent of all working families in Colorado – lived on up to twice that amount.

Fox News Latino website

The wide political backing for a bill in the Colorado legislature to allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public universities appears to assure that the measure will finally pass after six failed attempts.

SB 33, offered by Democratic Sens. Michael Johnston and Angela Giron, was approved this Thursday in the Senate Education Committee by a vote of 6-3.

Fox News Latino website

Going to college has become a losing proposition for a growing number of minority youth in Colorado who find themselves burdened with student debt in an economy that is short on good-paying jobs.

"I know several people, including two very close friends, who ... have degrees, but also have a lot of debt and because they can't find work, they end up mowing lawns," Jason Chavez, a business administration student at a Denver university, told Efe.

By Kathleen Hallgren
Guest columnist, The Greeley Tribune

It's been said that the best anti-poverty measure is a job. But for more than a quarter of Colorado's workforce, working hard isn't enough to make ends meet.

In a recent report, we found that more than 48,000 working families in Colorado lived below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four in 2011. Another 154,085 families – 27 percent of all working families in Colorado – lived on up to twice that amount.

Here at the Bell Policy Center, we know that it takes time to turn research into policy and then legislation. Of course, what really matters is the results.

Well, the latest results are in on concurrent enrollment, and they are dramatic. And we couldn't be more pleased – because more Colorado high school students are following their dreams and attending college and because we worked hard to help craft the legislation that put concurrent enrollment in place.

By Frank Waterous
Senior Policy Analyst
waterous@thebell.org

In front of a standing-room-only crowd, including legislators, the lieutenant governor, the state treasurer, the commissioner of education, key education stakeholders, school administrators, teachers and – most important of all – hundreds of students, Gov. Bill Ritter today signed into law nine education bills passed during this year's legislative session. The ceremony was held at the Denver Public Schools' Career Education Center in north Denver.

This bill represents a net opportunity gain for Colorado, and the Bell Policy Center strongly supports it. The innovative and collaborative pilot program established through the bill is based on a successful educational model employed in other states. It will help low-literacy, low-skilled working-age adults more quickly and effectively acquire the education and technical skills they need for successful participation in the 21^st century workforce.

By 2026, Colorado will add 22,388 new jobs, increase economic activity by $4.4 billion and raise average annual household earnings by $608 if the state proceeds with the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid eligibility. These predictions are from a recently released report commissioned by the Colorado Health Foundation: Medicaid Expansion: Examining the Impact on Colorado's Economy.