Mandated hiring preferences are not a “just transition”

By Aimee Tooker | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

The Colorado Just Transition Action Plan was established in 2020 to “empower communities with resources to drive their own economic transitions.”  I take personal issue with Section 2 of this introduced bill.

SB26-052 “CONCERNING COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, PROVIDING A HIRING PREFERENCE FOR COAL TRANSITION WORKERS IN COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES AND EXPANDING THE ALLOWABLE WAYS IN WHICH A PUBLIC ENTITY MAY DEPOSIT OR INVEST JUST TRANSITION MONEY.”

·       A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL CONSULT WITH THE JUST TRANSITION OFFICE,

·       A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE JUST TRANSITION OFFICE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRIOR YEAR:

o   (a) THE TITLE OF ANY POSITION FILLED BY A QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER;

o   (b) THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKERS WHO FILLED POSITIONS AT THE COVERED BUSINESS;

o   (c) THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKERS WHO FILLED POSITIONS AT THE COVERED BUSINESS;

o   (d) EFFORTS UNDERTAKEN BY THE COVERED BUSINESS TO RECRUIT QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKERS

A “Just Transition” was “to help each community end up with more family-sustaining jobs, a broader property tax base, and measurably more economic diversity.”

The State of Colorado mandating who can have a job is a slippery slope and I for one appreciate the intent, but I take issue with the mandating reporting for the hiring preference. 

Colorado’s transition away from coal as a fuel for generating electricity was likely to last a decade or longer, and at some point, will have come to an end. As a taxpayer watching closely, I am okay with an office of the State sunsetting and not living past its useful life. 

But the state of Colorado should not force me to hire who they “prefer.”  

I will and should be able to hire the best person for the job and the one that will mesh with my business goals. 

Why not create a tax incentive rather than another burdensome “shall consult” and “shall report”?

I struggle with Section 2 and the start of something that can’t be put back in the box. I hope the sponsors of this bill take a step back and rethink this section of the bill. I appreciate the intent, but mandating preferential hiring practices and placing reporting requirements on employers is not conducive to the free market and business competition.

The same authority that allocates jobs, housing, and capital can punish dissent, while citizens become dependent on state approval rather than personal capability. 

I am a no on Section 2 of this bill and feel that we are opening Pandora’s box when economic control becomes political control.

Socialism concentrates power, weakens incentives, and replaces choice with control. 

History shows that prosperity and freedom grow when individuals are empowered to create, not when governments attempt to plan outcomes.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.