A Pueblo lawmaker who said small businesses are going under because they aren’t being paid on time on Friday killed his own proposal to try to fix the problem.
Democratic Sen. Abel Tapia said he didn’t have the votes to pass the measure, although at one time he thought he did.
“Everybody agrees there’s a problem with contractors getting paid, but the lobbyists for the cities, the lobbyists for the counties and the lobbyists for the utilities really put pressure on their lawmakers not to support this bill,” he said.
Senate Bill 95 would have required that invoices be paid within 30 days, or within 25 days if a subcontractor is involved. Owners, contractors and subcontractors would have had to pay at least 12 percent interest on unpaid invoices.
Tapia told the Senate that many businesses are going at least 90 days without being paid, which impacts their lines of credit and bond ratings.
Tapia said he could have saved his bill by watering it down so much that it was almost irrelevant. He said he didn’t want to see that happen.
Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said he couldn’t support the measure because it amounted to micromanaging contracts. But he said he thinks there should be a “Municipal Hall of Shame” for governments that delay payments to contractors.
Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, agreed late payments are a huge problem for businesses but also said he couldn’t support the bill.
He said he got a flood of letters from subcontractors who said the bill “didn’t accomplish what it said it would.”
In other action, the Senate gave initial approval to a bill critics call “marriage light.” Senate Bill 1260 allows adults in a relationship outside marriage to file beneficiary agreements with county clerks, a boon for those who can’t afford lawyers for wills, power of attorney and other documents, said the sponsor, Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
