Westminster, CO – The Adams County Regional Economic Partnership (AC-REP) hosted its annual Legislative Preview Breakfast on Thursday, December 7, 2023 at the Parsons Theater in the Northglenn Civic Center. AC-REP aims to enhance the business environment, expand economic opportunities, and promote a sustainable future for the Greater Adams County region's local communities, businesses, and residents.

The event allows businesses and community leaders to hear directly from local state legislators regarding their priorities for the upcoming legislative session. A panel of elected officials that represent the Greater Adams County Region stressed the importance of tackling housing affordability, infrastructure needs across the region, as well as healthcare costs and expansion of workforce development programs.

Representative Shannon Bird, Chair of the Joint Budget Committee, kicked off the panel to discuss the importance of managing the state’s budget at a time when affordability is top of mind: “Where you put your resources is what you care about...our ultimate job is to figure out what makes sense and how much we can afford,” she said. 

When asked about housing affordability and what the state might do, Senator Kyle Mullica responded, “I recognize how important local government is and that they have a seat at the table. We need to make sure our communities have a voice. Affordability and accessibility are huge issues. We need to do something about it.” 

AC-REP supports policies that foster economic progress and prosperity, attract and retain businesses of all sizes and industry sectors, and educate and train students to meet workforce needs.

As we’ve heard echoed from the business community, workforce challenges continue to be top of mind. Representative Gabe Evans stressed his priority was to “promote and leverage existing programs and resources that already exist at the state level.” Representative Manny Rutinel added that he is a firm believer “that we should have opportunities outside of the traditional college system to make sure folks can get into the workforce… and contribute to society.”

Part of economic vitality is a region’s ability to adapt and showcase innovation. To that end, the state legislators stressed the importance of collaboration to support the challenges we face with air quality, broadband, and healthcare. “We need to focus on having a [electric] grid that’s much more robust and resilient,” Senator Kevin Priola stated.

Overall, AC-REP was pleased to hear lawmakers emphasize the importance of hearing business voices down at the capitol and the desire to work collaboratively across partisanship and alongside the business community.  

“Working with the local state legislative leaders is crucial to the success of our vision,” said Lisa Hough, President & CEO of AC-REP, “We look forward to promoting policies that support infrastructure development, workforce development and education, and economic vitality for our region. At a time when business and employee voices are as important as ever, partnerships with the leaders in our state will be critical.”

Event made possible by AC-REP investors and sponsors: United Power, CommonSpirit, Civitas and IECRM. 

Thank you to the following legislators who joined our panel: Representative Shannon Bird, Representative Gabe Evans, Representative Lindsey Daughtery, Senator Kyle Mullica, Senator Kevin Priola, Representative Lorena Garcia, Representative Manny Rutinel, and Representative Jenny Willford.

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About the Adams County Regional Economic Partnership: AC-REP is a public/private, nonprofit investor-led hybrid business organization focused on economic vitality. It serves the Greater Adams County region with over 10,000 companies and just over half a million residents. AC-REP’s vision is to foster growth and innovation in the area, creating an environment where its economy and people thrive.