Groups react after Polis vetoes bills on wage theft, public schools

DENVER (KDVR) — Gov. Jared Polis issued six vetoes late Friday, including one about wage theft and another about heating and cooling systems in Colorado’s public schools.

Groups who advocated for the bills all session long are not happy with the vetoes. Polis said he rejected some bills because they are difficult or unworkable, while some lawmakers and workers say they feel let down and have more questions about why the governor chose to veto them.

“I was gutted. Governor Polis turned his back on the workers. He failed us,” said Jordan Jones with the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters.

Contractors, educators and lawmakers alike are unhappy with some of the six vetoes Polis issued over the weekend. The Democratic Women’s Caucus of Colorado is taking issue after two of their seven priority bills were vetoed; four others passed and one failed to make it to the governor’s desk.

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One would have required schools across the state to meet certain installation and maintenance requirements for their HVAC systems to get federal dollars for their heating and cooling.

“The reason the women’s caucus was supporting the bill is because it has to do with families, women, children and you know, our kids’ education and being in proper conditions when they are in school buildings, ensuring that they are comfortable and can learn, making sure they are not too hot and not too cold,” said state Rep. Naquetta Ricks, co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus.

The governor said the proposed requirements went too far, writing in his veto letter: “Schools and school districts that choose to access available federal funds for this purpose would be required to undergo onerous assessment and installation requirements using a certified contractor list established by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, above and beyond federal requirements for these funds.”

He also vetoed a bill looking to crack down on wage theft for subcontractors by holding general contractors more accountable. Local labor advocates said they feel betrayed by the governor’s decision.

“It definitely is a slap in the face. Workers are getting taken advantage of on a daily basis. The bills that have been passed in the past that he referenced in that veto letter were passed to correct this. If you noticed, those passed in ’19, ’22, and now we’re at ’24 again trying to correct the things that were missed in those bills. So there are constant ways workers are being abused,” Jones said.

Lawmakers hope to try again on vetoed bills

Workers and lawmakers with the Democratic Women’s Caucus said the timing of the wage theft bill veto is bad given the influx of immigrants in Colorado’s construction workforce and the spur in housing development thanks to newly passed policies.

The governor did not think the wage theft prevention measure held the wrongdoers accountable, writing in the veto letter for that bill: “This bill would let subcontractors who fail to pay their workers off the hook, do little if anything to prevent additional wage theft, and penalize good actors who pay all their workers on time.”

Most of the sponsors of the vetoed bills were women. The women’s caucus took issue with that aspect as well but said they hope to bring the bills back.

“We were very upset about these bills being vetoed. We knew they had strong possibilities of being vetoed and we lobbied so that they would be passed, especially since they passed the House and the Senate. So I’m sure these bills will come back again,” Ricks said.

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Jones said he believes the bill will be revitalized but hopes its protections are unchanged.

“It will probably come back, but the fear is it will be watered down. We don’t need it to be watered down,” Jones said.

Labor leaders, workers and state lawmakers will host a rally in reaction to the veto on Thursday at the Colorado Capitol.

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