DENVER—Colorado lawmakers have given initial approval to a package of bills aimed at reducing the number of people in poverty.
Proposed measures adopted Tuesday by the Economic Opportunity Poverty Reduction Task Force include allowing people who claim the earned income tax credit to collect their refunds first.
Others would make it easier for convicted criminals to get jobs and for officials to waive fees for identity documents needed by job seekers.
Committee members say the budget crisis has limited the state’s ability to fund poverty reduction programs. But they maintain there are other ways to help people struggling to make ends meet, including easing regulatory burdens.
“There is no money, but we need the semblance of a safety net. We have to focus on economic development that serves people instead of the other way around,” said committee chairman Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins.
The committee struggled over a bill that would strengthen state rent control laws after Republicans argued it would give local governments too much influence over developers.
“I see this as extortion,” said Sen. Al White, a Republican from Hayden.
Democrats insisted the agreements were voluntary.
The bills from the interim committee still must be approved by legislative leaders before they are introduced to the full Legislature in January. Lawmakers can also submit them on their own.
