Legislative & Regional Priorities

(Download 2021 Priorities)

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Support the development and implementation of a coordinated and organized two county Northern Colorado regional economic recovery plan to address the short- term and long-term economic challenges facing our community, businesses, institutions, and local governments.
• Support the continuation and creation of state economic development tools and incentives.

PANDEMIC CRISIS RESPONSE/REOPENING/REBUILDING

• Support safe and responsible reopening to assure the economic and mental well-being of northern Colorado.
• Support allowing Chambers of Commerce, in coordination with County Commissioners and County Public Health agencies, to develop and implement a community-driven, data-informed business certification plan committed to promoting and rewarding outstanding safety and proven and promising practices that will support virus
  suppression while creating opportunities for businesses to operate with more flexibility.

ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Protect and support the growth of the traditional energy sector while  encouraging the innovative alternative energy sector:

• Active engagement in the broad and comprehensive regulatory processes to implement SB 19-181 and climate policy legislation including HB 19-1261.
• NCLA opposed SB 181 and will continue to support and seek changes to mitigate adverse impacts of its implementation.
• Regulatory and policy decisions should respect the will of the Colorado voter in their strong opposition to excessive setbacks (Proposition 112) and, consequently, their support of the oil and gas sector.
• Support Weld County’s regulatory autonomy and its best practices for local control that should serve as a model for all counties.

AGRICULTURE

• Support and protect the agricultural sector of our economy for its many contributions to the region and state.
• Monitor and proactively defend the sector from overly expansive policies that contribute to a decline in an already low-margin industry.
• Support policies that reflect best industry practices for use of the land, water and environmental mitigation.

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Ensure that laws and regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions are transparent and objective about the economic and financial costs through comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and measurement standards demonstrating ongoing benefits.
• We advocate for objective and un-biased evaluations of technologies and strategies to achieve targeted GHG reductions while preserving access to affordable, sustainable energy to preserve and encourage healthy economic development.

ELECTRICITY

Oppose laws and regulations that prevent utilities from offering competitive electricity rates and reliable service with clean sources in a  timeframe that appropriately aligns with the timing of available  technologies that assure no dramatic rate increases or decrease in reliability. Further, encourage utilities to factor the environmental and financial costs of the “end of life” cycle of alternative energy source infrastructure.

FIX NORTH I-25

Secure the funding to widen I-25 to three lanes each way between Highway 14 in Fort Collins to Highway 66 north of Longmont by 2025. To that end, in 2021 NCLA supports:

• Protect funding already committed to widen I-25 including ensuring a federal TIFIA loan or other dedicated funding is secured
• Ensure policy decisions related to climate change do not impact  funding for transportation
• Continue our leadership to increase overall funding for the overall state transportation network by identifying new transportation funding sources that are politically viable
• Securing all necessary funding for completion of the North I-25 project through all available means including:
• Regional and local funding options such as a P3 commitment or Regional Transportation Authority
  • Expansion of state funding through package approach to include:
    • Dedicated transportation funding in the state’s General Fund
    • Transportation bonding program
    • Support fee and gas structure to ensure all users of the road, including electric vehicles, pay their fair share of the costs of the transportation infrastructure
    • Protect current revenue sources by opposing policies that consequently result in revenue reductions
    • Advocate for the state to use the available tranches of funding from Senate Bill 17-267 and any future available funds for completion of the state’s major transportation corridors
• Support robust federal stimulus funding for infrastructure with funding delivery approach that expedites moneys to projects that support economic recovery.
• Support federal reauthorization of transportation funding.

REGIONAL ROAD IMPROVEMENTS

Support improvements to secondary roads in the two-county region that improve mobility.

LABOR LAW AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT

• Support employers in Northern Colorado with legislation that improves workforce training programs and eliminates barriers to training, educating and certifying workers
• Protect the integrity and viability of the workers compensation system
• Support the elimination of barriers to employment and eliminate interference to the worker and employer relationship
• Protect the at-will employment relationship and the employer’s right to choose the benefits for its employees that it can afford

WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Support regional collaboration to create clean water resource management strategies, promote efforts to retain water in Northern Colorado, protect the integrity of water law, and support increasing water storage in Northern
Colorado including:

• Expand Halligan and Seaman Reservoirs to their fullest capacity
• Monitor construction progress for the Northern Integrated Supply Project including Glade and Galeton
• Reservoirs and related infrastructure
  • Encourage preservation of native supplies in Northern Colorado
  • Support and encourage innovative conservation approaches to water stewardship
  • Support storage projects on the Front Range as a key piece of resilience in light of increasing wildfires

HEALTH CARE

• Support having a high quality, accessible and affordable health care system for employers and employees.