Let's talk politics! Now that I have your attention, we encourage you to be aware of a few of the initiatives and amendments that will appear on the November ballot and VEP continues to monitor closely. Total spending by domestic visitors to Colorado increased to $17.2 billion in 2015* so you can appreciate why tourism is one of the top industries in Colorado. Tourism is impacted by a variety of industries including transportation, insurance, manufacturing, oil & gas and many others. Please feel free to contact me for more information and a complete list of issues.
- Initiative 96 - Constitutional Reform: CO has one of the most amended state constitutions in the nation, having been amended over 150 times (the U.S. Constitution has only been amended 27 times). This initiative proposes additional requirements in order to introduce a state amendment.
- Amendment 69 – Single-Payer Healthcare: State run single-payer healthcare system (also known as ColoradoCare) levying new taxes, an additional 10% income tax paid by businesses and employees.
- Initiative 101 – Minimum Wage: Ballot initiative will increase the state’s minimum wage to $12/hour and tipped minimum wage to $8.98/hour by 2020. Current wages are: $8.31 and tipped $5.29.
- Initiatives 75 and 78 - Oil and Gas Industry Initiatives: Initiative 75 allows an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning local government regulation of oil and gas development, authorizing local governments to prohibit, limit, or impose moratoriums on oil and gas development. Initiative 78 requires a 2500 ft. statewide setback for new oil and gas development facilities from the nearest occupied structure.
- U.S. Department of Labor - New rule taking affect on December 1, 2016: The US Department of Labor has issued new rulings on who and what qualifies for “exempt” status and sets new salary floor for Exempt employees at $47,476. All employers must comply including nonprofits on 12/01/16.
*2015 Longwoods International CO Travel Report
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