A House Democrat effectively killed his own proposal to force companies to give parents unpaid time off for parent-teacher conferences, pulling it from the calendar Monday after too many colleagues bowed to pressure from business.
The bill’s demise comes after weeks of intense opposition by business groups and public fretting by Democrats worried about being labeled “anti-business.”
Democratic Rep. Terrance Carroll of Denver, the bill’s House sponsor, said he pulled the legislation because he was about five votes short of passage. Some of his colleagues, he said, decided it was “an undue burden on business.”
By withdrawing the bill, Carroll avoided a recorded vote that could be used against Democrats in a future campaign. He said he hopes to bring the legislation back next year.
Anita Fraser, a mother of two, said her job teaching at Westminster High School is flexible enough for her to participate in her kids’ activities.
But many of her students’ parents aren’t so lucky. They miss field trips, parent-teacher conferences and meetings for special education, she said.
“Sometimes we have to talk to parents over the phone, sometimes we just don’t talk to them at all,” said Fraser, who lives in Denver. “I was hoping it would pass.”
Democratic Senate President pro tem Peter Groff of Denver, who introduced the original version of the bill in the Senate, said leadership in both chambers had decided earlier this session that the bill should pass. Many parents don’t have the luxury of leaving work to attend school activities, he said.
“We just told them today ‘That’s just too bad.’ To make a political point. To throw some bone to the business community,” he said.
The bill was killed, Groff said, because the House has become hypersensitive about being labeled anti-business.
As introduced, the bill would have allowed parents 40 hours of unpaid leave over the academic year to attend school activities. Parents would have been limited to two hours a day with no more than five hours a month.
House lawmakers significantly watered down the measure before its initial approval last week. Parents would have been given 15 hours a year – no more than 2 hours a month – of unpaid leave to attend parent-teacher conferences or deal with emergencies. Parents would have been required to give their employers a week’s notice and have the school sign verification that they attended.
Republican Gov. Bill Owens said Monday he hoped legislators could come back next year with a less “onerous” proposal.
“I was not comfortable with mandating that sort of behavior,” he said.
Vickie Agler, Colorado director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said the bill could impact productivity.
Her group said government should not mandate unpaid leave. It’s better worked out between employers and employees.
Agler said that she told her 9,000 members that if there was one bill this year to call their legislators to oppose, this was it.
“It’s been close in every vote that’s been taken on this bill. … (Democrats) knew this was one of the bills from the very beginning that was being watched heavily by the business community.”
Staff writer Allison Sherry contributed to this report.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at cfrates@denverpost.com or 303-820-1633.
