Colorado business leaders applied heat to state lawmakers and Gov. Bill Owens to ensure that illegal-immigration proposals they considered onerous were not passed during the special session.
Owens said Tuesday that he was “lobbied heavily by people on both sides of the issue.”
Denver lawyer Steve Farber and homebuilder Larry Mizel personally lobbied the governor. Others, including meat processor Swift & Co., the Colorado Contractors Association and the Colorado Retail Federation, made their voices heard through lobbyists.
Owens blamed the “the massive opposition of the business community” for the demise of House Bill 1018, which would have required employers to ask prospective employees for a state identification card.
“Business was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to even have labor … there simply isn’t anybody available to do some of these jobs,” he said.
Owens did agree Monday to sign House Bill 1017, which will require employers to attest that they have verified the legal status of their employees. The bill’s wording had been watered down, requiring the state to prove businesses show “reckless disregard” for the law before they can be fined. The original language required the state to prove only that businesses “knowingly” broke the law.
Business leaders said they feared the immigration proposals would lead to a worker shortage in Colorado.
“There was an abundance of concern,” said Farber, who met with Owens over the weekend. “If, in fact, we’re going to be unfriendly to so-called illegal immigrants, other Western states will be friendly to them, and we may well have a shortage of labor.
“Does that put Colorado in a disadvantageous place? I think it does.”
Other companies, while not pressing the governor directly, lobbied aggressively.
“We had a lobbyist at the Capitol the entire time,” said Tony Milo, Colorado Contractors Association executive director.
Colorado Ski Country USA argued that requiring a Colorado ID card would hurt the state’s tourism industry – including the $2.5 billion ski industry – which employs more than 10,000 seasonal foreign workers annually.
“Our international workers go through an extensive federal process in order to get a work visa,” said Melanie Mills, vice president of public policy at the ski trade group. “We made the argument that those folks should be able to work in Colorado under their federal authorization.”
So far in the 2006 election cycle, Mizel has donated $29,150 to Republican political action committees and candidates and another $25,000 to the Republican National Committee. Farber has donated more than $26,000 to Democratic candidates in national elections and more than $6,000 to Republican candidates.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or at jdunn@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-820-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
