Colorado Contractors Assn. Contributes $100,000 In Battle Against Four State Amendments
Sept. 28, 2010
The Colorado Contractors Association (CCA) has contributed more than $100,000 to the Coloradans for Responsible Reform (CRR) campaign to urge ‘no’ votes on four measures scheduled to be on the November ballot.
CCA Contractor Board and Associate Council members say they will continue to raise money until September 24 for the campaign which has netted nearly $2 million to date.
The four measures, sponsored by organized labor, which have qualified for the November ballot and now have official Amendment numbers are:
- Amendment 53 (Statutory) – Extend criminal liability for business and non-profit executives and managers. According to the CRR, this measure would expose directors, executives and managers to expanded criminal liability for the activities of their Colorado business practices, including corporations, partnerships, sole-proprietorships and Colorado’s 19,000 nonprofit entities.
- Amendment 55 (Constitutional) – Requiring businesses to demonstrate "just cause" before termination of employees. This measure, explains CRR, would shift Colorado’s "at-will" employment status to "just cause," empowering contingency lawyers to pursue monetary damagers on behalf of a client challenging whether their termination of employment resulted from a state-approved list of just causes.
- Amendment 56 (Constitutional) – Mandating that business pay 80% of their (full and part-time) employees’ and 70% of their dependents’ health care. This amendment would require all businesses with 20 or more employees to provide full major medical health care benefits to all (full and part-time) employees and their dependents.
- Amendment 57 (Statutory) – Enabling injured workers to sue employers for unlimited damages after collecting a workers compensation award. CRR views this as a "double-dip" provision since it would enable injured workers to sue employers for unlimited damages after collecting a workers’ compensation award.