Joint Budget Committee moves to introduce bill to exempt state from local minimum wages and set state employee wage via bargaining

The Joint Budget Committee on a 6-0 voice vote approved introduction of a JBC bill to clarify that the state government is not subject to local minimum-wage ordinances and to establish a separate minimum wage for state employees through the administration's bargaining process.

Mark Farandino, director of the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, told the committee that the statute is unclear and that "the state is not subject to, local ordinances around minimum wage," a practice the administration has followed but which one locality has recently challenged. Farandino said the administration signed an MOU with WINs that morning seeking to move the state-employee minimum to $19.29 and to address pay compression as part of partnership bargaining.

Why this matters: committee members said the change would affect pay across state agencies, cash funds and general fund balances. Farandino gave a high-level fiscal estimate: a total impact of about $6,500,000 with roughly $1.8 million in general funds and the remainder largely in cash funds; he identified Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) summer employment as a primary cash-fund exposure. He also said the state's share of local occupational taxes was roughly $900,000 per year based on monthly reports, with Denver accounting for the majority of that amount.

Legal and drafting issues: Richard Sweetman of Legislative Legal Services told the committee the current draft needs additional language to address occupational taxes and to establish how the state minimum would be implemented. Sweetman said the draft currently clarifies that state employees follow statewide employment provisions rather than local minimum wages and recommended adding statutory cross-references as needed.

Members pressed staff on mechanics and timing. OSPB staff described compression adjustments at about $1.6 million (approximately $700,000 general fund) and said the movement on minimum-wage steps totaled roughly $3.8 million; staff said they tried to limit compression increases given the budget climate. Committee members and staff discussed whether to place a specific dollar figure in statute, reference the signed MOU or use a legislative (ledge) deck and a supplemental placeholder for funding; staff said the MOU signed that morning allows the administration to share the agreement and that OSPB, the Attorney General's office and Legislative Legal Services would work together to finalize appropriate bill language and fiscal notes.

Motion and procedural outcome: Vice Chair Bridal moved to introduce LLS 1027 with the modifications described on the record (adding occupational-tax language, clarifying the state's exemption from local minimum wages and implementing a state-employee minimum via bargaining). The motion passed on a committee vote recorded as 6-0. Senators Kirk Meyer and Amabile were named as Senate sponsors and Representatives Brown and Taggart as House sponsors; the chair directed that the bill be routed to appropriations for further handling as a JBC bill.

Next steps: staff will refine bill language and fiscal notes and circulate the MOU referenced on the record. Committee members asked that the drafter work with sponsors and relevant offices to ensure the final text reflects the committee's intent before formal filing.