The House Finance Committee advanced two substantive bills: SB 39, modernizing the Fire and Police Pension Association's death and disability plan, passed unanimously after an attorney's fees amendment also passed unanimously, reflecting alignment between the chair and bill sponsors; and HB 1043, targeting discriminatory practices by Transportation Network Companies against riders with disabilities, advanced 8-2 to Appropriations over objections that the punitive fine structure would drive independent contractor drivers off platforms.
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Chair Woodrow proposed that prevailing appellants recover reasonable attorney's fees, arguing it would help members afford competent counsel and that the bilateral-fee alternative would disincentivize legitimate appeals. Senator Snyder (bill sponsor) argued it was 'contrary to the general rule of law in Colorado,' called it 'unprecedented,' and stated any fees 'would be paid with other members consent contributed assets' — meaning other firefighters and law enforcement officers. The amendment failed 4-6.
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“25% of people who carry a white cane reported being denied rides with Uber or Lyft. And when you introduce a guide dog, that number goes up to 79%.”
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Sign in to subscribeThe committee will come to order. Please call the roll. Representative Brooks. Present. DeGraff. Excused. Garcia. Gonzalez. Good afternoon. Hartsuk. Excused. Marshall. Here. Ryden. Here. Stuart Zokai. Excuse. Tatone. Here. Mr. Chair. Here. Representative Zokai is also here. Okay, folks, two bills up today. Let's see if we can be efficient. We have the sponsors here for SB 39. Mr. Speaker, pro tem Representative Taggart, who'd like to kick us off. Representative taggart. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let me start by giving a little bit of background about the Fire and Police pension association, which SB 2639 is all about. The FPPA has been in existence since 1978, and it has provided a safety net that's invaluable for our first responders across the state and so too for their families, offering fully funded comprehensive retirement benefits and critically important death and disability benefits in the event of a first responder's serious injury or death. FPPA benefits are funded by members and their employers, and that's critical to understand. They are not funded by any state funds. It is strictly done by the employees of FPPA and their employers. These Benefits cover over 16,000 of our first responders in Colorado and…
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