A Democratic-sponsored bill to reward employers who rehire laid-off workers narrowly survived death at the hands of Senate Democrats on Monday.
Sponsored by Sens. Rollie Heath of Boulder and Chris Romer of Denver, Senate Bill 133 would give a tax credit to employers who rehire workers they had laid off last year.
Heath said the bill could give an extra psychological push to employers on the verge of hiring back their laid-off workers.
The bill failed on a 17-17 tie vote, with Democrats Morgan Carroll of Aurora, Moe Keller of Wheat Ridge, Mary Hodge of Brighton and Gail Schwartz of Snowmass Village joining 13 Republicans to vote against it.
After dismay on the Democratic side of the aisle, Schwartz asked that the measure be reconsidered.
Schwartz then switched her vote to support the bill, allowing it to pass with the necessary 18 votes.
She said later that she had first voted against the bill because she wanted to see a tax credit targeted to specific industries, such as the logging industry in her district. But when the bill was shot down, Schwartz said, she realized it was still a good piece of legislation and that it needed to stay alive.
“I still felt like I could get some folks back to work in my district,” Schwartz said.
Republicans branded her a “flip-flopper,” with Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, saying in a release that her vote “would have made even John Kerry blush.” The comment was in reference to the Massachusetts senator’s much-maligned quote that he “actually did vote for the $87 billion (wartime-funding bill) before I voted against it.”
The measure is expected to cost the state $3.1 million a year.
Republicans have said either the tax credit is not expansive enough or that it is an insult, given that the Democratic-led legislature has repealed more than $100 million in tax exemptions for businesses this year.
The measure must now return to the House for consideration of Senate amendments.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
