EPO1: Advocacy Update with Bill Becker

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The topic of affordable housing seems a priority for the majority of legislators. It is mentioned as important in many speeches from the floor.  However, there seems little focused effort for answers to the high cost of housing dilemma. Employers find their employees cannot live near where they work.  The increased travel and stress costs are real but no easy answer seems on the horizon. 
Proposed legislation to ease regulations on modular housing construction is planned but nothing specific yet. 

We've mentioned the nearly one-billion-dollar revenue shortfall the State of Colorado is facing. I learned of an example this week of a program using AI to significantly improve wildfire detection in such a way that could save many millions in firefighting costs by early detection.  A seven million dollars expenditure would be required to put the system in place, and most agree the savings would be huge versus the costs of another major wildfire.  With no funds available, this “good idea” was scrapped for now. 

The banning of semiautomatic firearms in Colorado continues to generate the most emotion at the Capitol.  While tangential to some business interests, this “policy” debate is being fought hard on both sides. Even some anti-gun legislators feel this may be going too far.  

What all this illustrates is that as we continue to monitor our legislative scene, navigating the often-choppy waters is a big part of what your Chamber does. And reporting back to our members in this and other formats is an important part of our work for you, our members. 

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