Senate Business, Labor, & Technology [Apr 23, 2026 - Upon Adjournment]

Senator Catlin.

Judah.

Liston.

Henrickson.

Madam Chair.

Senator Kipp. Thank you for hearing our bill today, committee. This is Senate Bill 156. This bill updates the statutory framework governing the Colorado Workforce Development Council, known as the CDWC, and I want to just tell you about the budget impact of this bill, since we're all thinking about that right now. In a year when we're looking carefully at every line of the state budget, this bill generates, we get more money from it, fund savings of just over $46,000 by streamlining the workload of the post-secondary and workforce readiness coordinator and removing prescriptive requirements around career pathway development that no longer reflect how the work is actually done. The bill makes those savings possible, and that matters in this budget environment, although I was told that we don't actually personally get to take the 46,000 and put it towards our favorite programs, but we, I'm sure, will get used properly. The CWDC has produced the annual talent pipeline report since 2014 and has built a mature system of career pathways, employer partnerships, and workforce coordination across state agencies. These are established functioning programs. The problem is that the state statutes governing all of that work have not been updated since 2015. In the intervening decade, Colorado's labor market has changed substantially. Federal workforce policy has evolved, and the council's own practices have matured well beyond what current law contemplates. The result is a council working around statutory requirements that no longer serve the people they were designed to help. This bill empowers the CWDC to develop career pathways based on current labor market data and real employer feedback each year rather than following a prescribed formula fixed in statute. It modernizes the talent pipeline report to focus on in-demand occupations and labor market analysis that state agencies can act on together and it updates the duties of the post and workforce readiness coordinator to reflect how that role actually functions across the CWDC and its partner agencies today The result is a workforce development system that is more responsive, better aligned to current economic conditions, and less expensive to operate. The Department of Labor and Employment and CWDC is here today and prepared to answer all of your hard technical questions and we are happy to refer to them on specifics, but this is a good bill. It's streamlining, it's efficiency, and it's saving money, which is what we should all be about.

Tricky. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm pleased to join as a co-sponsor on this bill with Senator Kipp. I want to add my voice to what she shared about it. You know, this is what I would say is a government efficiency streamlining bill, updating all the guidelines. When Mr. Santostaven from the department approached me to see if I'd be interested in it, I think he knew I'd be more interested when he said that it saves some money. And, you know, this is not a huge amount of money, but in a tight budget year, this produces some savings for us about $50,000 a year going forward each year and I think that's significant the Colorado Workforce Development Council is one of the state's primary mechanisms for connecting labor market intelligence to action it coordinates across the Department of Labor and Employment Department of Higher Education and the Department of Education and the Office of Economic Development to produce the annual talent pipeline report and I was asking the director who's going to speak here in a moment, you know, what professions are we seeing? We really need to educate people that we have a shortage on and we need to get the training in place for professions such as nursing. I think we all know we have a big nursing shortage in this state. Teachers, engineers, business management, financial services are all areas where we need to make sure we get the education out to folks in the college and even the high school world and the training programs to help people get into the careers where we have a shortage and where they going to get a good salary deal with the affordability issues in this state. So I think this is important, Bill. These statutes that govern this program haven't been updated in over a decade, and we need to do that periodically. And so I thank the Senator and the members of this committee. Hope you'll support us in updating this program and saving some money.

Good morning and thank you, Chair Danielson, Vice Chair Henriksen, and esteemed members of the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee. My name is Lee Wheeler-Berliner and I get to serve as the managing director of the Colorado Workforce Development Council. I'm here testifying today on behalf of the council in support of Senate Bill 26156. In the past 11 years that I've worked for the CWDC, I've had the chance to engage in national meetings on talent development issues. I've been able to hear from a community college president in another state who declared, I wish we could collaborate like Colorado does. I've heard from another governor who, when he was asked who he would recommend people connect with to learn more about experiential learning, he said call the folks in Colorado. The reputation that our state has has been driven in part by the collaborative nature and the data-driven practices that are being updated through this bill. So we're excited for the ability to make these changes. Since the first talent pipeline report was released in 2014, it continues to be utilized by policy makers, educators, program creators, and individuals to help them understand the talent landscape and make decisions about future implementation. As it's been stated, the changes we're seeking ensure that this work drives career pathways and post-secondary workforce readiness in a responsive manner that reflects the demands of today's marketplace. It's been designed with partners in mind and it will be collaborative and efficient in implementation. So I enthusiastically request your yes vote today, and I'm pleased to answer any questions you have.

You were supposed to send the invites, Larry.

Yes, we do have one.

Are you on the committee?

Okay.

I move L001 to Senate Bill 1.

Objection to L1.

I don't have anything further to add, Madam Chair.

Good bill. Vote yes, to quote the good senator from Montrose.

Madam Chair, I move Senate Bill 156 to the Appropriations Committee with a favorable recommendation.

Senator Catlin.

Judah.

Liston.

Henrickson.

Yes.

Thank you, Committee.