Surprisingly, House Bill 1273, the Colorado Partnership for Quality Jobs and Services Act, slipped through the House State Affairs Committee with little notice two weeks ago. It currently languishes in the House Appropriations Committee where it is likely to be released soon and must undertake a sprint through floor debate and then on to the Senate for approval before the Legislature calls it quits for the year. This bill will find itself locked in a cage match with other late bills, all hustling for passage during the final two weeks of the session. Sponsors will be jockeying for advantage in their efforts to stuff 10 pounds of advancing legislation into what is little more than a five-pound bag of remaining legislative days. Strategic Republican foot-dragging is likely to consign more than a few of these to the limbo of indefinite postponement.

Just last week, Democratic state Reps. Chris Kennedy and Mike Weissman threw in the towel on their effort to restructure Colorado’s senior property tax exemption, extending a wistful promise to return next year with an improved, vitamin-enriched approach. Speculation at the Capitol is that the Family Leave Medical Insurance Act, which still seeks an exit from the Senate, may itself be on life support.

Acknowledged public policy problems rarely lend themselves to either swift or simple solutions. Entire ecosystems of barely visible legal and marketplace stakeholders always encrust the status quo. Much to the disappointment of freshmen legislators, big changes often have to be introduced several years running before they succeed – then several more before that solution achieves grudging acceptance.

HB 1273, sponsored by JBC member Daneya Esgar and Senate President Leroy Garcia, is intended to formalize the partnership arrangement between state workers and the administrative appointees of the governor by restoring statutory authorization for collective bargaining and payroll withholding of union dues. The bill was moved out of committee on a party line vote, but no Republican argued state workers should be happy with their plight. The rot in Colorado’s civil service system is way too apparent to be denied. Employee turnover is at record highs, approaching 30 percent annually in some departments, and it is proving increasingly difficult to fill vacant positions many having remained unfilled for six months or more. State wages have been largely frozen for nearly 20 years, benefits reduced and salary compression (resulting from a failure to provide pay-for-performance raises) has each contributed to declining morale and an exodus from state jobs since our economy improved.

Esgar and Garcia are not attempting to provide workers with a newfound right to strike, although there is always a chance for a walkout when conditions grow sufficiently noxious. Their bill is intended to address the imbalance that currently exists between workers and managers. There is virtually no voice speaking for state workers in either the budget process or work rule decisions. It isn’t even clear who is ultimately in charge. State employees work for the taxpayers of Colorado, but, more directly, they are the workforces provided by the legislature. They may report to the governor and his appointees, but governors come and go throughout every career. State workers serve to implement the programs and enforce the laws approved by the legislature. Few of these positions are glamorous and many are largely janitorial in character. Their efforts should be appreciated.

There is an inherent tension between the executive and the state workforce, irrespective of party. Democratic governors have proven only marginally more supportive of Colorado’s civil service than Republicans. It was Bill Ritter who reneged on a commitment to formalize the partnership agreements between Colorado WINS and his staff. And it was John Hickenlooper who tripled the number of patronage positions in the senior executive service, closing off many career-capping promotions for long-serving state workers. Following the extensive damage to state highways caused by Front Range floods, CDOT workers rebuilt our washed out bridges and roads in mind-bogglingly short order – working seven days a week and living in tent encampments with the National Guard. I was standing with a senior CDOT maintenance manager as Gov. Hickenlooper praised his troops for their genuinely amazing achievements. He sarcastically and somewhat bitterly remarked to me, “Who knew he felt that way?”

State law promises state workers a prevailing wage, comparable to equivalent compensation for similar work in the private sector. If state workers fail to win a seat at the table again this year, it’s only a matter of time before a class-action lawsuit demands the legislature comply with the law – a suit I suspect workers will win.

Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant and a former state legislator. He can be reached at mnhwriter@msn.com.