I am preaching to the choir when I mention the challenges of the recent economic downturn and how it has been impactful to your business. And all of you are well aware that in the midst of the crisis many businesses were required to make changes in their workforce, letting employees go or reducing their hours. As one would expect, such changes resulted in an increased draw on Colorado's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which is completely financed through employer contributions. What came as a surprise was the fact that the fund had structural issues and faced a serious insolvency problem, and that employers were on the hook for a tab - payable to the federal government - that reached $1 billion dollars, plus interest!

Armed with this information, Colorado Concern and our peer business organizations joined forces to find a solution that would allow us to address repayment quickly and at a rate that was more favorable than that charged by the U.S. government. The option most worthy of review was utilization of private market financial tools to pay the debt - and build the fund to statutorily required levels. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has the authority to issue debt, and we have urged the department to consider moving in that direction.

Earlier this month we co-signed a letter to Colorado Treasurer Walker Stapleton and Governor Hickenlooper in support of fully vetting the benefits and drawbacks of the bonding effort outlined above. Since that time the Treasurer has issued a Request for Proposals for bond counsel and a financial adviser. The process will occur over the next month, and Colorado Concern and other business groups have been invited to participate in fully vetting the proposals to determine whether there is a net gain for businesses to bond the debt and build the fund. If so, the state will proceed this fiscal year to complete the transaction. We will keep you posted on this effort as it has a direct impact on you and your business.

Leadership Meetings: Thank you to those of you who joined us for our Senate Legislative Leadership meetings. Those in attendance had an opportunity to talk with Sen. Cheri Jahn and Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman. Discussion focused on how to increase job growth, the proposed separation of Pinnacol Assurance from the state and Medicaid's impact on the state budget. This week's meeting with House Leadership has been cancelled. Deliberations around the state budget are scheduled to begin late in the week, and we thought it best to allow leadership the time to focus on deliberations. Should you have an issue you would like to raise with leadership, please don't hesitate to let me know, and we will be happy to assist you.