Couple tidbits about the Colorado PUC, and an end of session update on 3 bills.
FYI re. the PUC
In case you weren't aware ...
I am not sure if you knew, but the PUC handles more than just power companies.
They also manage and license things like tow trucks, limousines, etc. They're apparently in a fuss right now with some tow operators over instituting rules based on last year's "Towing Bill of Rights" (a story on the matter followed by the link to the bill from last Assembly session are linked below in that order).
I'll leave it to you to read the article and the details therein, but I return (as I often do) to my concern about how much power and decision-making authority we are vesting in the hands of unelected people in this state. This isn't just a Democrat thing either; this has been going on a while now and represents a trend in this country. It's a concern to me and I hope to you as well.
https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-public-utilities-commission-towing-companies-regulations-16673550
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1314
**Related:
Related:
Speaking of the PUC and unelected people, there is a new PUC director now. Details in the press release.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CODORA/bulletins/35771a4
A collection of bills I'd had my eye on and their fate as of the close of the Assembly seession ...
There are some bills that I follow or testify on that, after testifying, I move on. We live in a finite world and I have lots of demands on my time outside of politics.
There are some too, that I simply don't have time to write about or deal with. I still watch them out of the corner of my eye, but not as closely as others.
I have a collection of links below for the bills that fit into those two categories. The first is a bill I posted about and testified in favor of way way back at the start of the session. It was Sen Kirkmeyer's bill restricting the state's use of non-disclosure agreements.
I'm happy to report that it's passed the Assembly and on its way to the governor's desk.
The second link below is to a law that would be difficult to categorize for me. It's about the retail delivery fee imposed by Democrats last session to "pay for our roads".
I don't dislike the bill. I am glad it passed. I wish it would have gone further (like the bill put for by Rep Pugliese that would have eliminated it and which was quickly voted down early in the session).
I'll leave it to you to read more details about the bill in the second link below, but I can summarize it here quickly. The bill lessens the regulatory burden on businesses from its first iteration. You still have to pay the fee, it'll just be easier for businesses to comply with regulations and manage the fees.
The last one is an addition to the state's equal-pay law. Rather than a fix or a way to ameliorate one of consequences of the original equal-pay law (that of companies who have no physical presence in Colorado choosing to not advertise or allow remote work applicants from Colorado), it doubles-down on the stupid. More in the third link below.
https://denvergazette.com/premium/non-disclosure-agreement-prohibition-colorado-governments/article_76d296a8-ead4-11ed-8a16-d313f88ba31a.html
https://tsscolorado.com/polis-signs-law-fixing-colorado-retail-delivery-fee/
https://tsscolorado.com/equal-pay-law-upgrade-heads-to-governors-desk-largely-unchanged/