Gloves are coming off at the Capitol among heavyweight business lobbies and trade groups as they zero in on the bills that are giving them the worst heartburn in the waning weeks of the 2017 legislature.

Earlier in the session, business advocacy groups could afford to wax nonchalant and even feign open-mindedness on bills everyone knew they really hated. After all, no one wants to fire all their ammo and spend all their capital so early in the game. Besides, striking a wait-and-see pose is good for a group’s image; it appears so nonpartisan and above-the-fray.

With time now drawing short, however, groups like the influential Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry aren’t holding back. A headline in its latest, weekly Colorado Capitol Report, on pending bills the group opposes, said it all: “Phoenix Rises: House Democrats (Again) Introduce Anti-Business ‘Messaging Bills.’ “

As noted in CACI’s e-missive:

Once again, the progressive House Democrats have introduced a package of “messaging bills,” as they are known under the Gold Dome, that in one way or the other target the Colorado business community mainly under the rationale of helping low-income workers.

The group singles out three bills it says it opposes — all of which we’ve blogged about previously (here, here and here):

HB-1305, “Limits on Job Applicant Criminal History Inquiries.”…

HB-1307, “Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program Wage Replacement.”  The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee amended and approved the bill on a party-line 7-to-6 vote Tuesday, sending the measure to the House Finance Committee.  CACI’s Loren Furman, Senior Vice President, State and Federal Relations, and two other people spoke against the bill. …

HB-1290, “Colorado Secure Savings Plan.”  The bill was scheduled to be heard this afternoon by the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee.

All bills are still pending and, clearly, CACI isn’t pleased. It functions as the statewide chamber of commerce and is instrumental in shaping up and articulating the legislative agenda for Colorado’s business community.