A late-night amendment to a a proposal that seeks to help restaurants cope with rising costs would eliminate the part of the bill that opponents argue does not go far enough to protect tipped workers.

As introduced, House Bill 1208, sponsored by Denver Democratic Reps. Alex Valdez and Steven Woodrow, would have amended Colorado’s tipping statute to allow local governments to set minimum wages above the state threshold as long as they provide a tip offset of at least $3.02.

Under the bill, local governments with minimum wages above the state’s $11.79 per hour for tipped employees — currently Denver, Boulder, and Edgewater — would be required to impose tip offsets equal to $3.02, plus the difference between the local and the state’s minimum wage amounts.

Sponsors said the bill aims to address the unintended consequences of a 2019 law that allowed local governments to establish minimum wages above the state threshold. Restaurateurs have argued that it’s needed in order to offset the rising costs associated with running their businesses.

Critics, on the other hand, said it would cut wages at a time of soaring worker expenses.

After several weeks of silence its passage through the Business Affairs & Labor Committee last month, the bill was heard in the House Finance Committee on March 14.

Sponsors initially introduced an amendment that would have done three things:

• Increase the required tip offset from $3.02 to $3.52, to be increased according to the consumer price index each year

• Require local governments with higher minimum wages than the state to achieve a tip offset equal to 75% of their pay within the next four years

• Require localities to increase their minimum wage in the future to do the same.

“We’ve worked with everybody that we can, everybody who will come to the table and talk to us, and I think what we have here is a great compromise and a way to move the bill forward,” said Valdez.

Woodrow said his aim is not to make workers’ live more difficult.

“We understand that there are people who are struggling and living paycheck to paycheck and that they are working tirelessly to provide for their families, and we are not here in any way, shape, or form to disrespect them or to try to make their lives more difficult,” he said. “We don’t want to see their jobs closed or layoffs. We don’t want to see hours cut, we don’t want to see benefits stripped, we don’t want to see downsizing.”

Following several questions from committee members, committee chair Rep. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, decided to push the vote to the end of the meeting. About five hours later, when it was time to vote, sponsors brought yet another amendment, which they said marked a compromise between restaurant owners and workers.

The latest amendment allows local governments to set their tip offsets, provided the amount is not less than the state’s minimum wage minus $3.02. The amendment allows local governments to determine what an appropriate wage for tipped workers looks like in their community.

Two members of the Finance Committee, Reps. Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, and Lorena Garcia, D-Denver, voted in opposition to the bill, arguing it doesn’t do enough for workers.

Garcia said she would have liked to see more local control.

Zokaie agreed: “I think our communities know how to handle the situation best and that full local control is necessary, and this does not give my community that authority.”

During a debate on the House floor, Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, argued that cutting wages for some of the lowest-paid workers in the state will not solve the affordability crisis affecting Denver’s restaurants.

“I believe that we can find solutions to these issues and provide relief for small businesses that are struggling without doing so by sacrificing the pay of some of the lowest-paid workers in the state,” said Mabrey.

The bill passed through the House on a 44-20 vote.