Advocacy Report

AGC Legislative Committee to Hold Member Reception on September 9 to Meet in Person and Recruit New Members to the Committee

The AGC Legislative Committee will hold a member reception on Sept 9 from 4-6pm at West 29th Restaurant (outside patio) to allow committee members to meet in person (regular meetings are held by zoom). The committee is also welcoming new members to the committee - so if you have ever had an interest in joining the committee - this is a great time to engage before the 2026 state legislative session and 2026 state election season begin! There is no cost to attend the reception. To attend email or call Nicole at the AGC office at nicole@agccolorado.org or 303-388-2422.

AGC Continues Discussion with Denver Mayor Johnston on Vibrant Denver Bond Package and Construction Issues

AGC Board holds special meeting Sept 4th to discuss construction issues needing change to make Denver Bond projects worth supporting

AGC CEO Jeff Barratt and Advocacy Director Michael Gifford met with Denver Mayor Michael Johnston recently to review the Vibrant Denver Bond package and discuss two important issues affecting the construction industry. The Vibrant Denver Bond package asks voters to approve a $950M bond to build 59 projects.

AGC told the Mayor that the requirement to ensure that 20% of construction employees on any city, DEN, National Western or Vibrant Denver construction project is nearly impossible to meet, and many companies will simply stop bidding or proposing on Denver work as a result. The reality is that it is too expensive for most trade employees to live in Denver and those employees reside in surrounding cities like Arvada, Aurora, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Littleton, Westminster, etc.

The second issue AGC advanced is the funding stuck in the city Building Permit Fee fund, a fund that AGC and HBA helped create to fund high school construction programs. AGC and HBA have similar funds established in Aurora and several cities in Southern Colorado.

Barratt and Gifford will meet with the Mayor and his team again the week of Sept 8th to continue exploring how to make Denver projects more attractive for AGC members, and to help AGC grow workforce development programs that will lead to more successful execution of affordable housing and city construction projects.

AGC Meets with New Energy Coalition in Formation

It is well known that Colorado faces challenges to provide ample and affordable electricity in the context of state and local greenhouse gas reduction policies that increasingly prevent both generation of electricity from coal and natural gas, and at the same time prevent utilities from transmitting and distributing that electricity to buildings (when the PUC denies rate cases to expand the system to meet policy driven demand). AGC has been meeting with a new coalition in formation that is bringing many business and labor groups together to more effectively study the challenges and offer practical solutions. Stay tuned as we learn more and provide this info to the construction industry.

AGC State Bill Tracker

For a complete list of AGC state bill positions see our handy dandy AGC Bill Tracker. For questions contact Michael Gifford at mgifford@agccolorado.org.