Amendment 49

Denver Metro Chamber endorses Amendment 49
Despite Political Blackmail Attempt, Support for Ethical Standards Strong Among Colorado’s Business Community

ENGLEWOOD, CO – Amid an orchestrated attempt to blackmail business leaders into funding opposition to measures on this fall’s statewide ballot, a leading voice in Colorado’s business community instead has endorsed a proposal to clean up government payroll systems.

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce has announced its support for Amendment 49, also known as the Ethical Standards Initiative. The Chamber is the established advocate for 3,000 small and large businesses in the seven-county Denver metropolitan area.

“The Denver Metro Chamber firmly believes that every employee, public and private alike, should be asked before any deductions to their paycheck are made,” said Chamber spokesperson Kate Horle. “The passage of Amendment 49 ensures that public employees will know where their money is going, and how it is being spent.”

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce joins an array of business organizations backing Amendment 49—including the National Federation of Independent Business, Colorado Contractors Association, Colorado Health Care Association, Colorado Homebuilders Association, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Realtors Association Issue Committee, Southeast Business Partnership, Association of Builders and Contractors, and the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce.

“The members of Colorado’s mainstream business community are good citizens,” said Amendment 49 proponent Jon Caldara. “They understand the need for a commonsense reform like Ethical Standards that helps to ensure clean government across the board.”

In the meantime, published reports indicate that political and labor leaders are working behind closed doors to coerce business leaders to fund opposition of Amendment 49 and two other ballot initiatives. Labor leaders in exchange have offered to remove four anti-business initiatives from the ballot.

“The votes of Colorado citizens should not be subject to blackmail,” Caldara said. “This is the same kind of underhanded activity that justifies the need for Amendment 49.”

Amendment 49 will prohibit governments from bundling money from public employees’ paychecks and delivering the funds to special interest groups. These special interests use the money to lobby the same politicians who just delivered the cash to them. Local governments across Colorado have set the pattern for the Ethical Standards Initiative. Twelve counties representing more than half the state’s population (including Arapahoe, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, and Weld) have implemented this reform since 2007.

To learn more about the initiative, visit the Amendment 49 website: EthicalStandardsNow.org

–30–

Ethical Standards Now | P.O. Box 100512 | Denver, CO 80250