A bill to allow public employees to engage in collective bargaining has run into its biggest hurdle: lack of support from Gov. Jared Polis.

The bill is the brainchild of House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, and Sen. Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder. Esgar worked on a similar bill in 2021, but never introduced it. The draft measure faced major opposition from local governments.

That appears to be at least some the same problem for the 2022 version.

Conor Cahill, the governor’s spokesman, said in a statement, first reported by Colorado Public Radio, that the governor has “made clear to the bill sponsors and advocates that he will not support the bill in its current form.”

Cahill continued that Polis was “proud to sign legislation that provides the state workforce collective bargaining while striking a balance between collective bargaining and elected representation.”

He added: “The Governor has raised the minimum wage for home healthcare workers, state workers and ushered historic expansion of collective bargaining rights for state workers. The door is open to a much narrower legislation to expand collective bargaining and the governor hopes the advocates engage local governments more earlier in this process.”

The 2021 version applied to anyone employed by cities, counties, school, library or fire districts, public colleges or universities, or the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, according to a draft obtained last year by Colorado Politics.

That 2021 draft also said public employees would be allowed to unionize, collectively bargain, communicate with unions and other public employees, participate in the political process, have exclusive representation at formal discussions on grievances or personnel policies and practices, and be able to post information on unions in the employer’s facilities. Joining a union would be optional.

It would apply to home-rule cities, which earned it the animus from local governments, including Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, who said in 2021 that it was a “total affront” to local control.

The latest version is relatively the same as the 2021 draft, according to Kevin Bommer of the Colorado Municipal League.

Bommer told Colorado Politics “no one’s negotiating with us. CML has had no contact with sponsors or opponents since the beginning of December.”

He attributed the lack of communications the municipalities’ clear position “that any state preemption of municipal personnel matters violates the home rule section of the Constitution.”

Bommer said he also hasn’t heard from the governor. 

“We’re happy to engage proponents as they wish and understand what they propose, and will give them honest feedback on how it impacts local control and home rule,” he said.   

Esgar said the legislation is still coming together.

“We have been meeting with CML. We’ve been doing a ton of stakeholder work” dating back to before she went on maternity leave last summer, and that also includes the governor’s office, the Democrat leader said.

“We will continue to really engage with conversations with the stakeholders that will provide public employees with the rights they need. We are hearing the concerns of the governor and stakeholders, but we’re also hearing from the workers that we have to get this passed,” she said. 

Esgar acknowledged that the last time she met with the league was in December. She met with the group before that, as well, she said. She asked for ideas on how to improve the legislation, but the group didn’t submit anything and said it would oppose the measure, Esgar said, adding she plans to circle around with the opponents before the bill is introduced, with a timeline for that to happen by the end of the month.

“I’m pushing all interested parties, but I’m not in a rush, I want to get it right,” she said.

The league constructed a side-by-side comparison of the draft bill and the collective bargaining law that applies to state employees, and the differences are dramatic.

The state employee law only applies to classified employees, but the public union bill would apply to any employee of covered governments, including management.

The state law governs wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment; the draft public union bill indicates it applies to “all terms and conditions” of employment. That could be “all matters affecting the employment and working conditions of public employees, including hours and place of work, budgetary and financial issues of the public employer, and the organizational structure of the public employer.”

State law limits the subjects the state collective bargaining agreement can negotiate; there are no limitations on what could be negotiated under the public union bill.

Finally, the state collective bargaining law prohibits strikes. It’s not prohibited in the public union draft, according to the CML analysis.

This story is developing and will be updated.