Advocacy Report

AGC Board Meets with Xcel on Key Energy & Power Issues for Construction Industry

The AGC Board of Directors met with Xcel Colorado President Robert Kenney on Nov 19 to discuss the future power & energy needs of the construction industry and the state, and specific issues related to data center development. Xcel and all utilities must provide 100% renewable energy creation by 2050 per state law (think wind and solar). As a result, Xcel alone needs to invest $7B+ in distribution infrastructure (power lines from substations to buildings) and $6B+ in transmission infrastructure (mostly to transmit electricity from wind assets in eastern CO to the Front Range). This is an ongoing strategic focus area for AGC so watch for more updates from us in future Advocacy Reports and videos.

 

Xcel presentation at the AGC Board Meeting

 

AGC, CCA, & IECRM Represent Construction Industry at CO Supreme Court

In the case of Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Co., LLC v. Regional Rail Partners et al. (“Wadsworth”) - AGC did not agree with a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling in Wadsworth that raised alarm bells in the construction industry.  It held that a Verified Statement of Claim (“VSC”) on a public project may not include amounts that are disputed or unliquidated, and that a contractor who files an excessive VSC forfeits all rights to the amount claimed. The plaintiff in Wadsworth filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari (“Petition”) with the Colorado Supreme Court.  As the court of last resort, the Colorado Supreme Court has the power to decide whether or not to take a case up on appeal.  It typically grants less than 10% of certiorari petitions, most of which are in criminal cases where life or liberty are at stake.  The grant of a certiorari petition in a civil case is very rare. Therefore, to convince the Colorado Supreme Court that it should take Wadsworth up on appeal, AGC, together with the Colorado Contractors Association (“CCA”) and Independent Electrical Contractors Rocky Mountain (“IECRM”), filed an amici brief in support of the Petition. Our reason was simple, to ask the CO Supreme Court to take up the case on appeal and reverse parts of the decision - and maintain 106 years of mostly settled case law in this area.

The Colorado Supreme Court granted our Petition to consider the following two issues on appeal:

1. Whether a claimant who files an excessive VSC under the Colorado Public Works Act forfeits both its statutory remedies and all other available legal remedies or, as with an excessive lien claimant under the General Mechanics’ Lien Act, forfeits its statutory remedies only.
2. Whether a VSC under the Public Works Act may lawfully include disputed amounts, such as additional costs incurred by a subcontractor due to project delays and disruptions, or whether such claims are limited to undisputed, liquidated amounts.

The CO Supreme Court approved the application by AGC, CCA and IECRM to intervene in the case. On Nov 19, the 3 associations spoke for 5 minutes directly to CO Supreme Court Justices and advanced our argument on behalf of the industry. Henry Bangert from BBG was the lead attorney for AGC throughout the process and Steve Gurr from Polsinelli presented our oral arguments at the hearing.

 

Now we wait for an estimated 6 months for a CO Supreme Court decision or ruling. AGC wants to thank CCA and IECRM for teaming up to represent the industry, Henry Bangert for leading the combined effort, and Steve Gurr for presenting our oral arguments at the hearing.

 

AGC Members Invited to Energy Crossroads Coalition Summit on Dec 12

The AGC Board of Directors voted in October to join the Energy Crossroads Coalition. The main purpose of the coalition is to bring a practical voice to the state’s policy of all renewable energy sources by 2050. Earlier this year there was a bill in the legislature to accelerate that requirement from 2050 to 2040 (the 2040 bill). The bill did not pass but it will likely come back in the 2026 legislative session. The coalition will do polling of voters and review various studies to provide practical information to legislators and other stakeholders. AGC CEO Jeff Barratt and Advocacy Director Michael Gifford will be the lead representatives for AGC on the coalition and we will have a member task force that will help inform Michael and Jeff on issues to address from the construction industry perspective.

 

Energy Crossroads Coalition 1st Annual Summit

The Energy Crossroads Coalition is holding their first annual Summit on Friday Dec 12 in Denver. The coalition expects 200+ industry and legislative leaders at the event to hear results of coalition polling and focus groups of Colorado voters about their views on current and accelerating renewable energy policy, considering the cost to consumers to accelerate all renewable requirements from 2050 to 2040. The polling and focus groups were also asked about data centers specifically as Colorado is one of the states that do not provide incentives for data centers (many states near and around us do provide incentives). The summit will also feature panel discussions on workforce needs for energy creation, transmission and distribution in the billions of dollars to effectuate current state requirements and what that need looks like if the requirements are accelerated to 2040 from 2050. There is no cost to attend and companies can send more that one representative.

 

Registration Link

 

Denver Voters Approve $950M Vibrant Denver Bond on Nov 4, 2025

Denver voters approved the $950M Vibrant Denver Bond package in the Nov 4, 2025 election. The package was actually 5 separate ballot measures, which received a range of 61-68% approval.

 

AGC supported the Vibrant Denver Bond Program & Yes Campaign by encouraging AGC members and their employees in Denver to Vote Yes on Ballot Measures 2A-E. AGC members also invested $200,000 towards the Yes on Vibrant Denver Bond Campaign. The bond program will support $950M for 59 construction projects around the city & county of Denver.

Vibrant Denver Bond information

Vibrant Denver Bond Campaign – Yes on 2A-EYes on Ballot Issue 2A-E Ad

 

AGC Legislative Committee to Meet on Dec 2

The AGC Legislative Committee is scheduled to meet on Dec 2 to address upcoming advocacy, election & 2026 legislative session issues. There are 50+ members of the AGC Legislative Committee and all member firms are eligible to have a representative on the committee. To attend as a guest or join the committee email Nicole at the AGC office at nicole@agccolorado.org

 

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.