This week, Governor Ritter announced $60 million in additional cuts to bridge the latest gap in the state’s annual budget.
Because Colorado didn’t receive as much federal Medicaid money as it had expected-we received $144 million rather than the $212 the state had hoped for-Governor Ritter and his team had to come up with $60 million in budget cuts, in addition to those already conducted this year.
With limited options outside of the legislative session, the solution relies heavily on cash funds, including $9 million from the state’s Medical Marijuana Program Cash fund as well as $6.2 million in cuts from spending from the General Fund and a $53.4 million transfer from various cash funds.
Governor Ritter’s plan will save $4.9 million from a 1 percent reduction in payroll costs by not filling vacant positions as well as through cuts to the Department of Corrections. Nearly $41 million of the stop-gap actions comes from oil-and gas-related funds originally intended for local communities and higher education.
Not using that money, he said, would have led to cuts in other places, including taking teachers out of classrooms. “Truly, we find ourselves in difficult, difficult budget circumstances,” he said.
We hope these latest adjustments-described by Governor Ritter as preserving essential services and requiring a collective commitment-will be the last needed for this fiscal year. The next revenue forecast will come in September, which will be used to shape the FY 2011-12 budget request.
So, we now begin to focus on the next year, when our state will face a budget deficit that has been estimated as high as $1 billion. Closing that gap will require even more sacrifices, tough choices and thoughtful leadership.
As business leaders, we will do all we can to share information and help ensure these budget decisions don’t further challenge the business community’s ability to grow our economy and jobs.

Last week, the Board of Directors met in Vail for the Chamber’s annual board retreat. We enjoyed the beautiful Colorado mountain air and the change of scenery (and lack of cell service in the room we held our sessions) inspired a thoughtful review of this past year and the challenges and opportunities presented in the next.
We had the chance to provide an orientation for our newer board members-and we were quickly reminded what incredible leadership we have in the business community. New to the Board this year are John Beeble, Denise Burgess, Ray Cullen, Ken Feiler, Dwight Pullen, Al Timothy and Steve White.
The overarching theme of the retreat was jobs for Colorado and the majority our time was spent exploring strategies and outcomes for four critical areas from that point of view: education, transportation and health care (the pillars of Colorado’s economy and the Chamber’s focus) and economic development (the roof those pillars hold up). Those areas of focus impact every business and every person in our state. The board developed key performance areas for each pillar and really showed their commitment to supporting economic development efforts for existing business and new businesses in Colorado.
We also spent some time discussing our strategy and approach to defeat some of the greatest threats to Colorado’s economic recovery-three ballot issues on the ballot this fall-Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101. The Chamber has reconstituted Coloradans for Responsible Reform, our issue committee, to defeat these measures. Should these measures pass, they will take $4.2 billion of Colorado’s economy leading to the loss of 73,000 jobs on top of the 100,000 jobs Colorado lost in the recession. The Board emphasized its commitment to defeating these three issues to protect Colorado’s schools and Colorado’s economy from further destruction. I couldn’t be more proud to stand with this team of business leaders during such difficult times taking on such challenging issues. I am honored by how the Board of Directors has and continues to put our state’s best interests first.
These were a thought-provoking three days. Our leadership, our staff and our Board, under the leadership of new Board Chair Bill Lindsay and Chair-elect Hassan Salem, are all committed to ensuring a healthy economic climate now and into the future. We look forward to the challenges of the 2010-2011 fiscal year with resolve, a strong plan for moving forward and creating jobs for Coloradans and a renewed sense of common purpose.

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors unanimously approved the next Chair and Chair-elect for the Chamber this week.

This is a critical role for the Chamber and we have two incredible leaders coming in. Bill Lindsay of Lockton Companies will serve as the 2010-2011 chairman and Hassan Salem is the chair-elect and will serve as chair for the 2011-2012 Chamber year.

We are thrilled to have these two long-term Chamber board members lead us during this time. I have no doubt that each of them will leave a mark during his term and lead this organization and our economy toward prosperity.

Bill Lindsay’s term as Board Chair will begin in September. Lindsay’s previous roles with the Chamber include: Member of the Board of Directors; chair of the Health Care Committee; and participant in the Leadership Foundation’s Leadership Exchange program.

Bill’s resume in the health care world are impressive and include: Chair, Colorado’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform, 2007; current board member for Craig Hospital; inaugural board chair of the Colorado Children’s Basic Health Plan Policy Board; past chair of the oldest small business association in the United States, the National Small Business Association; past grant review and award panel member for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; and past member of the National Advisory Council of the Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy.

As a small business owner, Bill can relate to the majority of Chamber members and Colorado’s business community. His leadership will help solidify our efforts to ensure every business in Colorado is getting the support and help it needs to grown and ultimately thrive.

Hassan Salem’s career began at Colorado National Bank (a U.S. Bank predecessor company) as a teller after graduating from college. He served in a number of positions within U.S. Bank’s Consumer and Commercial Banking division, including senior vice president and division manager of commercial banking for U.S. Bank in Denver. Additionally, Hassan is well-known and respected for being one of the ski industry’s leading lenders.

Hassan has served on the boards of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Denver Area Council-Boy Scouts of America, Mile High United Way, Colorado Concern, and Colorado Succeeds. He has also been a member of the Colorado Forum, serves on the Downtown Denver Area plan and is an alumnus of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation’s Leadership Denver class of 2004.

His term as chairman will begin in September 2011.

Hassan is an excellent choice to lead our board of directors. He is not only committed to helping create a prosperous business environment for all Coloradans but also to building a strong community as well. I look forward to his year of leadership.

In the business community we love those stories about rising from the front lines and Hassan represents that hard work can create great success. He and Bill create the perfect team to lead us in this next year.

If the world didn’t know it before, it certainly does now:  Denver is home to one of the most vibrant, energetic business communities around.

USA Today last week detailed Chamber board members’ support of the Denver B-Cycle program, demonstrated when they rode B-Cycle bikes to their regular board of directors meeting.

That little board outing came on the heels of an extremely successful visit to Dallas, where members of our Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) shared with the world’s wind energy leaders Colorado’s assets in that arena and returned home with more leads for companies looking to expand in the Centennial State than ever before.

This week, Tom Clark, Holli Baumunk and Laura Brandt of the Metro Denver EDC team are in Europe, wooing solar and wind companies in Munich and Copenhagen, respectively, touting our low corporate tax rate and highly educated and energetic workforce.

These visits to other regions are part of the Colorado Cleantech initiative, which focuses on our state’s newest industry sector that includes wind, solar, biofuels, smart grid and natural gas.  Nestled in the nation’s wind tunnel and boasting 300 days of sunshine every year, Colorado is primed for cleantech growth.

Over the past two years, 17 wind and solar companies have announced plans to relocate to or expand in Colorado and the rest of the world is taking notice. The fact that Governor Ritter during his tenure has signed 56 pieces of legislation toward the energy economy in Colorado also does not hurt.

I’m looking forward to the EDC team’s return to find out what more we can be doing to remain attractive to companies around the world.

I have said it before and I will say it again: We Coloradans are a determined lot.  Rather than navel-gazing or getting caught up in worrying about the what-ifs and could-bes, we have stood up, brushed ourselves off and are taking those long strides toward our future.

…And the livin’ is not so easy. We have been getting some figures from Coloradans for Responsible Reform ( CFRR) on the impact of Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101.

They estimate that, when fully implemented, these three initiatives can kill as much 100,000 jobs – many of them private sector –primarily because when public entities bond capital investments (construction projects) much of that work goes to the private sector.

It just makes me shake my head—Colorado is finally coming out of the recession, and these three killers show up on the scene.

Colorado has already lost over 100,000 jobs in this recession, and to lose 100,000 more would absolutely devastate our economy. (As my Grandpa used to say, “it would really give us something to cry about.”)

It seems as though merger year is upon us. Qwest and CenturyTel, United and Continental, Frontier and Republic—all announced mergers in recent months and unfortunately didn’t deliver or keep headquarters in Denver.

While this gives us all pause, there is some additional information you should know.

Our EDC Chief Tom Clark points out that we have secured 38 headquarters since 2003. Furthermore – what really matters are jobs for Coloradans right now. And, most agree the growth will really come in the smaller companies. Those employers under 100 employees, are slowly adding positions.

Since our mantra is jobs, jobs, jobs, we need to keep our focus there. Don’t get me wrong, if we can have both, we want them, but if we can only have one—we’ll take the jobs every time.

So, now we’ll work hard to show CenturyTel how we will support them and ensure their success in Colorado, so they keep the majority of those 7900 jobs right here.

Well, I guess it’s official—we’re entering campaign season (or maybe we’ve been there and I’ve been trying to avoid noticing). In any case, what this means is that campaign finance issues are hot at the state and federal levels. Senate Bill 203 fits right in –it creates new requirements for independent expenditures. Independent expenditures are purchases of advertising or direct mail that take a position on a candidate without the candidate knowing (i.e., independent of the candidate). And, because every advertisement is required to state who paid for it, you can typically tell when the advertisement is coming from the candidate and when it isn’t.

(By the way, this is where I get really happy that the Chamber doesn’t take positions on candidates or get involved in any candidate races.)

What you should know about the bill is that these increased regulations, which are required only for those independent expenditures made by corporations, could chill constitutionally-protected free speech for our members who do participate in these independent expenditures.

The question is, why are we engaging on this issue today? It is the end of the session—so rushing this bill at the last minute doesn’t allow those of you most affected to weigh in with your thoughts. Further, there is no lack of challenges and issues currently facing our state—this seems like a misplaced priority when we all should be focused on the economy and jobs. And, it appears to create an uneven playing field for people who engage in campaigns—one fundamental principle in business is that all we typically ask for is an even playing field and then allow us to compete.

There is basically a week left in the legislature.

There are still dozens of bills to be considered including Senate Bill 191 – Michael Johnston’s bill to increase teacher and principal effectiveness.

Since more than 30 percent of the kids who start high school in Colorado don’t finish, it’s pretty imperative that we do something comprehensive, and do it now.

Nibbling around the edge of education reform makes no sense at all, rather we must enact thoughtful, systematic changes that ensure our children are prepared for the 21st Century and its workforce needs.

Furthermore, Colorado’s outstanding teachers and principals deserve accurate, comprehensive evaluation and they deserve to be rewarded for their performance.

This bill is one of the VERY few meaningful bills that has bi-partisan support. In this extraordinarily partisan environment, that alone is something to celebrate.

I expected Tokyo to feel really crowded (35 million people in the area) and to be very entrepreneurial.
I was wrong on both counts.
They have people wearing white gloves who usher you and millions of your soon-to-be closest friends on to subway cars that look like they were just put on the line yesterday. I can only dream of having my personal vehicle look that good, much less American public transportation.
They have also been in a 20-year recession – they aren’t the risk takers that I’m used to here in Colorado.
I guess, when your cultural time is measured in millennium, a year or a decade is nothing.
The latter point is why we are continuing to go to Asia to garner a Denver to Tokyo direct flight. The payoff for such a flight is tremendous, the relationship building to get there takes a long time. And, while we are entrepreneurial in Colorado, we are also persistent, so we’ll stay the course and keep working to make this flight a reality.

Last night I had my first opportunity to testify before a committee at the state legislature. I arrived when the committee started, at 1:30 p.m., knowing full well that they had 12 bills to consider.

The committee was focused on credits and exemptions that the state is eliminating or capping. My Chamber public affairs team warned me that it could be a while before it was my turn to testify.

The hearing room was standing room only, and another hundred people were in the lobby waiting their turn to testify on one bill or another.

I testified at 1:30 a.m. this morning – twelve hours after the committee started.

Here’s my question. I have been to, and frankly run, meetings where the topics were critical. Is there ever any reason for a committee hearing to last twelve hours? What kind of critical thinking is happening by legislators and testifiers when they have been sitting in a hearing room for twelve hours? We were all emotionally and physically exhausted, hungry and dehydrated. Who really functions well under those conditions? Next time, I am bringing snacks.