Below is a list of major issues the Chamber is following and our efforts on our members’ behalf.
Health care
- HB 1004 – Proposal For Affordable Health Coverage Option
- Establishes a framework to create a public option for health insurance in rural areas.
- HB 1168 – State Innovation Waiver Reinsurance Program
- Establishes a “reinsurance” program to help keep costs down for health insurance providers with high-cost claims.
- SB 004 – Address High-cost Health Insurance Pilot Program
- Modernizes the laws authorizing health care cooperatives in the state to incorporate consumer protections such as coverage for preexisting conditions and to encourage consumers to help control health care costs by negotiating rates on a collective basis directly with providers. There is currently a test in place in Summit County with the PEAK Health Alliance
- HB 1216 – Reduce Insulin Prices
- Caps the cost of insulin and authorizes the state to determine the cause of high drug costs.
Recent Articles:
Colorado Gov. Polis signs landmark health care legislation in Vail – May 18, 2019
Gov. Polis signs bills into law – May 17, 2019
Broadband
An important broadband bill was passed during the 72nd General Assembly, and has been signed into law by Governor Polis.
Economic vitality
In 2018, the Chamber was selected as a recipient of two Blueprint 2.0 initiatives from the State Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). We have been busy working on the implementation of these technical assistance grants.
Brand Building for Communities (Spring 2019) [PDF]
“In a two-month marketing bootcamp facilitated by DCI, selected communities will assess their challenges and opportunities while analyzing local themes integral to identifying Value Proposition, Brand Promise and Key Messaging, the results of which will be presented to the community by OEDIT during an unveiling of the brand to discuss the development process, outcomes, and implementation. Access will also be provided to OEDIT’s in-house graphic artist for initial ideas on Logo development, with all artwork and art files provided to community, subject to one round of revisions.”
Potential Outcomes
At the end of this program, the community will have developed a Clear, Unique Brand and Positioning, Initial Target Audience, Key Messages and Visual Identification (logo), exclusive to the community.
Status: DCI has delivered its final report (Perception Study, Branding Recommendations & Marketing Tactics) and a new tagline has been identified.
Next steps: OEDIT is working on logo development and will present findings in June 2019.
Coworking 101 (Fall 2018–Spring 2019) [PDF]
“With a growing national trend towards remote employees, freelancers, and independent professionals, and increased mobility for both businesses and startups, Coworking spaces have become a progressively popular and increasingly vital alternative to the traditional workplace. These shared collaborative spaces have shown measurable successes in attracting, retaining, and engaging the ever-growing population of location-neutral workers and entrepreneurs. For the Coworking Space 101 initiative, OEDIT has partnered with Proximity Space and Startup Colorado in a two-phase initiative to both provide communities with a comprehensive overview of coworking as both a business and community asset, as well as work to identify end-users.”
Potential Outcomes
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- Activation of local remote, freelance, and entrepreneurial community through engagement, education-driven events, and the development of a support infrastructure.
- Insight into the Coworking Industry and a wide-ranging awareness of the mechanics of individual spaces.
- Locally-driven assessment of the community demand for, and feasibility of, a co-working space.
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Status: The Executive Director completed Proximity Space’s School of Coworking for Founders in late Fall. In May 2019, she toured seven different coworking spaces to research benefits, costs, challenges, and lessons learned from those currently operating a coworking space, and how our communities can apply these best practices.
Next steps: The Basalt Chamber of Commerce is working to open a new coworking space in Downtown Basalt in 2019. A lease has been signed and a soft launch will occur by the summer.