A “Legislative Brief” in the March 30 issue of The Colorado Statesman (available through subscription) about Colorado Senate Bill 117 reported Republican reaction to the measure but offered no response from Democrats, who sponsored the legislation.

The brief Statesman article reported, “Senate Bill 117, by Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, and Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, allows an empoyee [sic] to sue for wrongful termination without fear of being forced to pay the defendant's legal fees if the suit is found to be frivolous. However, that relaxation of lawsuit limits is not extended to defendants.”

The Statesman quoted current and former GOP lawmakers attacking the bill: " 'This is a bad for business bill,' Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, said. 'It can easily derail the life of someone living the American dream of owning a small business.' " Later, the article quoted former Republican state Sen. Mark Hillman (Burlington), stating that he was "[a]lso concerned with SB 117" and noting that Hillman “mentioned that Colorado has historically never taken sides in disputes between labor and business.”

The Statesman failed to offer a response from any current or former Democratic legislators in its brief article about the bill.

Portions of the wording of the Statesman's “Legislative Brief” were identical to that in an item posted March 29 on ColoradoSenateNews.com with the headline “Bill by Dems handcuffs small business owners in lawsuits” -- including an identical misspelling of the word “employee.” According to the online political daily news site Colorado Confidential, the Colorado Senate Minority Office has announced that it now is using ColoradoSenateNews as its official conduit for most news releases by Senate GOP members.

From the “Legislative Briefs” article in the March 30 issue of The Colorado Statesman:

Senate Bill 117, by Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, and Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, allows an empoyee to sue for wrongful termination without fear of being forced to pay the defendant's legal fees if the suit is found to be frivolous. However, that relaxation of lawsuit limits is not extended to defendants.

“This is a bad for business bill,” Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, said. “It can easily derail the life of someone living the American dream of owning a small business.”

Last month, Senate Republicans helped to limit the bill to only apply to businesses with 50 employees or more. But a House amendment gutted that language and lowered the number to 15 workers and higher.

[...]

The proposal was approved by House members on a mostly party-line vote of 36-29 and is en route to Gov. Bill Ritter for consideration.

Also concerned with SB 117 was former Senate Majority and Minority Leader Mark Hillman, R-Burlington, who mentioned that Colorado has historically never taken sides in disputes between labor and business.

From the March 29 ColoradoSenateNews.com item, “Bill by Dems handcuffs small business owners in lawsuits”:

A Democrat measure removing a hurdle to frivolous-employment lawsuits passed in the state House today, after an amendment was attached that further shafts small-business owners.

Senate Bill 117, by Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, and Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, allows an empoyee to sue for wrongful termination without fear of being forced to pay the defendant's legal fees if the suit is found to be frivolous. However, that relaxation of lawsuit limits is not extended to defendants.

“This is a bad for business bill,” Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, said today. “It can easily derail the life of someone living the American dream of owning a small business.”

Last month, Senate Republicans helped to limit the bill to only apply to businesses with 50 employees or more. But a House amendment gutted that language and lowered the number to 15 workers and higher, thus taking a stab at small business owners.

[...]

Bacon claimed his bill attempts to create a situation for those with low income to have access to the legal system. However, critics charge the proposal also causes additional lawsuits to be filed, thus creating more work and a boon for the pockets of trial attorneys.

[...]

Also concerned with SB 117 was former Senate Majority and Minority Leader Mark Hillman, R-Burlington, who mentioned that Colorado has historically never taken sides in disputes between labor and business.

“Unfortunately, this bill does just that by wrongly assuming that an employee will never take advantage of the system,” Hillman said. “More often than not, a problem is not driven by the employee, but by the employee's attorney.”