Ruling state Senate Republicans drew cheers from the business community and jeers from the Democratic minority across the aisle for stopping legislation Monday that would have prevented employers from inquiring about the criminal past of job applicants.

All of which — the action by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee; the sigh of relief from business groups, and the indignation from Democrats — went down as anticipated.

House Bill 1305, would have prohibited job applications from asking job seekers to disclose whether they have been convicted of crimes — often by checking a box on the application form. Dubbed “ban the box,” the proposal was part of a national movement that spawned the catch phrase.

The party-line vote scuttled hopes among Democrats in the waning days of the 2017 session for what they saw as a needed reform to curb recidivism by offenders and give them a shot at rehabilitation. They believe allowing employers to inquire about a job candidate’s criminal past erects barriers to employment for those who have served their time — and makes it likelier they’ll return to lives of crime and, ultimately, to prison.

Senate Democratic leader Lucia Guzman, of Denver, the bill’s Senate sponsor, issued a statement after the vote:

“This bill was about a second chance. A second chance for those men and women who paid their debt to society and simply want to make an honest living. With employers automatically rejecting people for just checking a box, we are allowing barriers to exist between Coloradans and a chance at a job.  This discrimination and neglect for the already punished will just continue the vicious cycle of Coloradans re-entering the criminal justice system. I am very disappointed we didn’t take this opportunity to lead on second chances today.”

Business groups, however, were dead set against the proposal. The National Federation of Independent Business in Colorado issued a statement welcoming the the bill’s defeat and quoting state Director Tony Gagliardi’s testimony before the Senate committee earlier in the day:

“Concerns over workplace security and skyrocketing litigation costs have made pre-employment background checks an essential tool for many businesses — large and small…Background checks also help prevent lawsuits against companies over negligent hiring in cases in which an employee’s actions harm someone else.”