unemployment insurance

Colorado Work Share Program

SB13-157

Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research
Testimony to the House Business, Labor and Economic
and Workforce Development Committee

March 26, 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to testify to the committee.

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.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signs House Bill 1272, which will expand training programs
for unemployed Coloradans. The Bell testified in favor of the bill,
and Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell, is at right.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signs House Bill 1272, which will expand training programs for unemployed Coloradans. The Bell testified in favor of the bill,
and Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell, is at right.

This bill represents a net opportunity gain for Colorado. It will extend and expand enhanced unemployment benefits for eligible unemployed workers who are engaged in and making satisfactory progress in approved training programs. The training authorized in this bill will help workers gain skills and expand the pool of skilled workers needed to fill current and future jobs. Research indicates that employer-based and entrepreneurial training are cost-effective methods of moving unemployed workers into employment.

Summary of legislation

HB 05-1092: SUTA Dumping Prevention Act of 2005, by Rich Jones to the Senate Business Affairs, Labor and Technology Committee, March 16, 2005

"SUTA dumping hurts state unemployment trust funds and shifts a tax burden to law abiding citizens. Unemployed workers, particularly low-income workers rely on the unemployment system to keep them and their families from falling out of the cycle of opportunity and into poverty. Actions that weaken the unemployment system hurt these workers.

HB 05-1020 – Alternative Base Period for Calculating Unemployment Insurance Benefits in Colorado, by Rich Jones to the Senate Business Affairs, Labor and Technology Committee, March 23, 2005

By Allison Sherry
The Denver Post

WASHINGTON – Roughly 81,500 Coloradans will exhaust unemployment benefits in 2012 if the law that lengthens the time people can collect insurance is not renewed in the next two weeks, White House officials said Thursday.

The state-by-state analysis was released in a push to lean on Republican members of Congress to compromise during a tense day of bargaining on a package that would not only extend unemployment insurance, but also give payroll tax breaks to 160 million Americans.

By Allison Sherry
The Denver Post

WASHINGTON – An imminent battle to extend tax cuts to more than 161 million Americans next year – including 2.5 million in Colorado – could get ugly as Republicans and Democrats spend the weeks before a Christmas recess wrangling about how to pay for them.

This year, the median household, which earns $50,000 annually, saw roughly $1,000 back in its paychecks after President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to shave 2 percentage points off of what workers normally pay into the Social Security trust fund.

This column appeared in the Denver Business Journal as a counterpoint to a column by Justin Longo of the Independence Institute. (Link to similar column use because of copyright restrictions.)

By Rich Jones