| Colorado attempts to stop outsourcing contracts { February 23 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_3568597,00.htmlhttp://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_3568597,00.html
Offshoring bill goes to Senate Measure backs keeping jobs in U.S.; Owens opposes it
By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News February 23, 2005
A hotly contested bill to stop Colorado from using offshore workers to perform state services won bipartisan approval from a Senate panel yesterday, triggering sharp criticism from Gov. Bill Owens.
Over the strong objections of business groups, the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee approved the anti-outsourcing measure 5-2. Senate Bill 23 now goes to the full Senate.
Under the bill, companies contracted by the state to provide a service - such as a call-center operation - would have to ensure workers in the U.S. do the job.
SB 23 would apply only to new contracts and wouldn't affect products supplied to the state.
It won the votes of all four Democrats and Republican Sen. Andy McElhany, of Colorado Springs. McElhany later said he wanted to give all senators a chance to debate the bill, raising the chance he could switch his vote.
Organized labor is a strong booster, arguing SB 23 would ensure taxpayer dollars are used to fund U.S. jobs rather than sent offshore to pay foreign labor.
But speaking with reporters, Owens made clear he opposes SB 23. That raises the specter the Republican governor could veto the bill if it clears both chambers of the legislature, now controlled by Democrats.
"I think it would cost Colorado taxpayers more, and I think it would jeopardize our ability to compete internationally," Owens said of the bill.
"If this causes us to have to increase costs to Colorado taxpayers because we aren't able to promote Colorado and buy things on the international market, it would be a real concern to me."
State officials allege the bill could cost the government more than $70 million because procurement costs would increase.
Business groups - ranging from the banking industry to high-tech - lined up in the hearing room to denounce SB 23, saying it would jack up taxpayer costs and discourage foreign companies from doing business in Colorado.
Heidi Heltzel, vice president for government affairs at the Colorado Association of Commerce & Industry, charged the bill would "stifle Colorado's economic recovery."
Proponents were equally adamant, denouncing the practice of U.S. jobs being sent overseas, or "offshored."
A slew of unemployed workers came forward to support the bill, saying taxpayer money should be spent on jobs here.
John Coffey, a Longmont resident who said he lost his job last year at IBM after Big Blue sent the work to Canada, said he has been unable to find a new job.
"Offshoring infringes the general well being of the state," Coffey told lawmakers.
Said Sen. Deanna Hanna, the Lakewood Democrat who sponsored the bill: "The state loses money when people are unemployed."
Hanna later predicted "a doozy" of a debate on the Senate floor, adding that a vote could occur next week.
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