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C6E8F85491522F438725878700586A03 Hearing Summary




PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For PRESENTATION OF THE DRAFT REPORT

INTERIM COMMITTEE  TASK FORCE ON ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND RELIEF CASH FUND
Date Nov 8, 2021      
Location SCR 352



Presentation of the Draft Report - Committee Discussion Only

09:05:47 AM  

Senator Moreno called the meeting to order.  Dr. Phyllis Resnick, Subpanel Chair, discussed the subpanel's draft report of recommendations on spending American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.  (Attachment A). She described the process for creating the draft report and reviewed the order of presentations.
09:09:05 AM  

Jason Schrock, subpanel member, reviewed the subpanel's baseline economic analysis and shared a copy of his presentation (Attachment B). He reviewed the state of Colorado's post-pandemic economy, noting that high wage jobs have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, however low-wage jobs are still reduced. He explained that significant labor shortages exist in the economy.
09:15:49 AM  
Mr. Shrock discussed the factors contributing
to labor shortages, including retirements, COVID-related health concerns,
reductions in immigration, lack of access to child care, and workers holding
out for better pay and working conditions. He continued by discussing job
opening rates by industry.
09:19:26 AM  
Mr. Schrock continued by discussing inflation
and noted that the subpanel believes that inflation will continue to increase
in the near term, but that inflationary pressures will ease next year.
Mr. Schrock responded to questions from the task force regarding growth
in personal income and the effect of increased retirements on personal
income.  Discussion continued regarding the current state of Colorado's
economy.
09:29:20 AM  
The committee discussed unemployment claims,
and Senator Moreno noted that enhanced unemployment payments have ended.
Representative Young asked about the effect of the pandemic on the employment
of older Coloradoans. Ms. Felix discussed data on retirements during the
pandemic. Representative Valdez asked about the increase in inflation.
09:35:56 AM  

Alison Felix, subpanel member, shared her presentation on industry impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (Attachment C). She responded to questions from the task force regarding supply chain and labor shortages. She further responded to questions from the task force regarding the impact of the pandemic on individuals by gender, and the impact of childcare disruptions on the economic recovery. She noted that the pandemic has significantly impacted women without a college degree.
09:58:22 AM  

Dr. Phyllis Resnick began her presentation on the people and households most impacted by the COVID recession (Attachment D). She discussed the labor market prior to COVID, noting that thousands of households relied on employment in four industries most affected by the COVID pandemic. She noted that of these households, the majority have female workers, live in rental housing, and lack a college degree. She further noted that prior to COVID, over half of these households were cost-burdened.
10:05:12 AM  

Dr. Resnick continue by noting that cost-burdened households are distributed among all race and ethnicity cohorts.
10:07:39 AM  
Dr. Elissa Braunstein, subpanel member,
reviewed the changes in the Colorado labor force between 2019 and 2021.
She reviewed the data by race, gender, and age. She continued by discussing
the changes in Colorado's labor force participation by gender and age and
discussed regional impacts. She discussed the relationship between retail
sales and unemployment in counties.
10:18:08 AM  

Representative McKean discussed the relationship between higher education and income and how trade labor affects that relationship, and Dr. Resnick responded.
10:21:18 AM  
Henry Sobanet, subpanel member, presented
the subpanel's proposed framework for the task force to use to evaluate
ARPA funding proposals (Attachment E). He reviewed the evaluation glossary
and the elements of the framework, including relevance to affected groups,
multi-year benefit, multiplier effect, administrative burden, start-up
costs, leveraging other efforts, and federal reporting/accountability.
Mr. Sobanet responded to a question regarding multiplier effects. The task
force discussed the elements of the framework and whether it would be valuable
to pre-screen any ARPA funding proposals using one of the elements. Mr.
Sobanet and Mr. Meyers discussed the one-time nature of ARPA funds. Senator
Moreno discussed incorporating an evaluation of sustainability into the
framework.
10:39:31 AM  

Mr. Meyers asked if the subpanel was evaluating whether proposals fit under the allowable ARPA uses. Mr. Sobanet reviewed the use of the framework to evaluate a proposal to repay the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund deficit with ARPA moneys. Daniel Chase, Department of Labor and Employment, responded to questions from the committee regarding the UI solvency surcharge. He further responded to questions from the task force regarding policy choices related to the UI solvency surcharge.
10:51:53 AM  
Representative Valdez asked about the multiplier
effect of paying down the UI trust fund deficit, and Mr. Sobanet and Mr.
Chase discussed modeling for employer impacts of paying down the UI trust
fund. Mr. Ryan Gedney, Department of Labor and Employment, responded to
questions from the task force regarding employer impacts. Mr. Sobanet and
Senator Moreno also discussed spending the money on capital improvements
and how dollars for capital projects can be leveraged. The taks force discussed
incorporating workforce considerations into the framework.






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