Committee advances bill to create education‑to‑public‑service hiring pathways

Sponsors described HB1136 as a workforce and recruitment measure to increase the pipeline into state government.

Melissa Walker of the Department of Personnel and Administration said the program would use existing resources to make pathways between secondary/postsecondary coursework and state hiring more visible and intentional. “This bill strengthens the bridge between education and public service by making pathways more visible and intentional,” Walker said.

MSU Denver’s representative said the proposal would create more opportunities for students to connect classroom learning with paid internships and career hiring — reporting that more than half of students paid through an earn‑and‑learn program are subsequently hired by their internship employers.

Action taken: The committee voted to move HB1136 to the Committee of the Whole by a 4–3 vote. Sponsors said the bill relies primarily on existing resources and aims to increase recruitment and retention for hard‑to‑fill state positions.