Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for the National Federation of Independent Business since 2005, knows Colorado Politics, so he’s a reliable source on what Gov. John Hickenlooper’s last State of the State address might sound like.

The governor is term-limited after eight years, so now is the time for him to start penning his legacy for small businesses like the one he ran before he got into politics, Gagliardi thins. Hickenlooper’s speech is set for 11 a.m. in a joint session in the House chamber.

“The governor’s speech, tomorrow, will probably be an equal look back on his seven years as the state’s chief executive and a look ahead on some of the things remaining to be done,” Gagliardi said in a statement. “The one thing Main Street business owners would most like to hear is an energetic emphasis on regulatory reform in his final year in office, a reform already in the works but proceeding much too slowly.”

The NFIB said the state should “synthesize” the hundreds of taxing districts across the state into a “smaller, cohesive entity with a more easily understood compliance process.” The group cited a Sales Tax Simplification Task Force created last year, and they hope Hickenlooper will endorse its work work in his speech. Ultimately, the legislature would decide on changes.

“The governor comes from entrepreneurial roots and knows fundamentally what an important shot in the arm harmonizing Colorado’s taxing system would be for the state’s economy, which is why we thank him again for signing Senate Bill 112 into law last year, that helped smooth the process for those owing sales tax to one local government but erroneously paid it to another,” Gagliardi continued. “Everyone would benefit from having simplified tax compliance built on universal uniformity.”

He pointed to a “healthy effect” from President Trump’s executive order to cut two regulations for each new one that’s created. That and tax reform has lifted small-business optimism to the highest point in 45 years on the NFIB’s Optimism Index, he said.

“Almost every politician keeps an eye out for the next office, even though almost every one of them denies it,” Gagliardi stated. “Should Gov. Hickenlooper be able to spur state tax reform into an everyday reality, it would be a great accomplishment that will serve him well in whatever he might choose to do in the future.”