Ritter signs bills on various business issues

Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 5:46pm MDT
Denver Business Journal - by Ed Sealover
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/05/24/daily30.html

Corporations that have taken advantage of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision and have put at least $1,000 in independent expenditures toward a political campaign must register their spending with the Colorado Secretary of State by Thursday, according to a new law signed Tuesday.

Gov. Bill Ritter inked into law two bills that will affect campaign disclosure and another two that will regulate the payday-lending industry and create a permanent commission to study pay equity among Colorado businesses. Those signings, done in his office Tuesday afternoon, followed his enactment of a number of criminal-justice reform bills earlier in the day.

Businesses that will feel the most immediate effect of the new laws are those that already have put money toward advertising or media campaigns regarding candidates or ballot issues. Direct election spending by corporations and labor unions long had been banned, but the Supreme Court ruled in the "Citizens United" case in January that the ban stifled First Amendment rights, opening the door to those groups paying to run commercials in the coming election.

Senate Bill 203, sponsored by Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, requires any business or union that puts money toward a campaign to identify itself and the amount it is donating by registering with the Secretary of State's Office. The bill, which took effect upon Ritter's signature, mandates that any company or labor group already taking advantage of the court decision submit their paperwork within 48 hours, Secretary of State Bernie Buescher said.

"If we didn't do Senate Bill 203, we would have a world where we would have potentially unlimited amounts of corporate and labor union money without disclosure of who it was coming from," Carroll said. "We could not responsibly go forward with this much money without closing those loopholes."

Ritter also signed House Bill 1370, sponsored by Rep. Lois Court, D-Denver, which requires increased disclosure by committees and individuals submitting ballot initiatives. Issue committees supporting or opposing such measures now must identify themselves, and proponents of initiative must register as an issue committee if they print or accept more than 200 petition sections to gather signatures.

Ritter also enacted two laws that business groups opposed during the 2010 legislative session.

* House Bill 1351, sponsored by Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, limits to 45 percent the annual interest rate that payday lenders can charge to customers and requires lenders to offer loan terms of at least six months and allow early repayment without penalty. Opponents have said the regulations will drive many payday lending companies out of business by limiting their profits, while Ferrandino said it will help to "end the cycle of debt for Colorado families."

* House Bill 1417, sponsored by Rep. Cherilyn Peniston, D-Westminster, creates a permanent Pay Equity Commission to educate employers about pay-equity issues, encourage employers to offer equal salaries to men and women and make Colorado a model state in terms of pay equity.

Peniston said the commission will make meaningful strides to close the gap under which women make 77 cents for every dollar Colorado men earn, but some business groups say they fear the commission using its power to push costly measures like mandatory sick leave by private businesses.

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