Talking about use of the veto during his State of the State speech last January, Gov. Bill Owens said, “I don’t want to, I don’t think we’ll need to. But, in fact, if I need to, I will.”
House Bill 1010 needs his veto.
In a fit of protectionism or jingoism or both, the legislature has passed a measure that stipulates that free-trade agreements between the U.S. and other nations are not binding on state purchasing rules.
In plainer language, that means U.S. companies would have priority in bidding for state contracts. (The bill would apply to construction contracts worth more than $7.4 million and other contracts above $526,000.)
The motivation for this Dubai Ports bill is obvious. Lots of Americans – and Coloradans – are nervous about offshoring of jobs, foreign firms buying U.S. companies and lots of other changes sparked by economic globalization. Voting for a bill like this one allows politicians to go on the campaign trail this fall saying they voted to protect American jobs and American companies.
It should be equally obvious that the bill is a bad idea. Free trade is a two-way street, and lots of Colorado companies and Colorado workers depend on international trade for their profits and their livelihoods.
In 2005 exports from Colorado were estimated at near $7 billion, and more than 2,000 state companies are engaged in international trade.
State business groups opposed the bill, correctly noting that if state government could discriminate against foreign companies, foreign countries might well discriminate against Colorado exporters.
Now that the legislature has gotten this vote out of its system, Gov. Owens should step in and block this unnecessary restriction on the state procurement process.
