CUT Engaged

How to Send a Message to Legislators

Use this form to contact the sponsors of this bill and share your support CUT’s position.

CUT has provided a message for you, but you also have the option to personalize it before sending.

Steps to Complete:

Enter your name and email address, then click Next.
Review the pre-written message or add your own comments.
Optional: Add your state senator and representative to the email to make sure they hear from you as well.
Click Send to submit your message directly to the bill sponsors (and your legislators, if selected).

Important: The reply-to address for this email will be Kim Monson, President of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT). Legislators may respond directly to Kim regarding this issue.

Your message will be sent to the legislators listed as sponsors of this bill. Your state senator and representative will also receive your message if you include them.

Make your voice heard!

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Step 2: Add Your Message (Optional)

Below, you can add a custom message to personalize your email to the bill sponsors. If you prefer, you can send the pre-written message from the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) as is.

Tips for Writing an Effective Message:

Be respectful and to the point.
Explain why this bill matters to you personally.
If possible, reference how it affects taxpayers, businesses, or your community.

Note: If you do not enter a custom message, the email will be sent with CUT’s recommended message only.

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Would you like to include your state senator and representative in this message?

In addition to sending your message to the bill sponsors, you have the option to also notify your state senator and representative. This ensures that your elected officials are aware of your stance on this bill.

Select an option below:

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Use the fields below to enter the email address for your state senator and representative.

You can find them by entering your address on Colorado Legislature website . (The tool will open in a new tab. After finding your legislators, return to this page to enter their email addresses.)

Mobile Tip: If you're using a phone and prefer to open the tool manually, click below to copy the link:

https://leg.colorado.gov/FindMyLegislator

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CUT Opposes HB25-1001, Enforcement Wage Hour Laws

The Leeds School of Business at CU recently reported that Colorado’s economic growth has moved from 5th to 41st in the nation because of excessive regulations on businesses. HB25-1001 piles onto the already 200,000 restrictions on businesses. This bill makes it more difficult for small business to operate in Colorado and the fines are egregious. Lastly, this bill unjustly removes applicability to government agencies.

Bill HB25-1001 Summary

Section 1 of the bill amends the definition of “employer” for purposes of wage and hour laws to include an individual who owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interest in an employer. Section 2 prohibits an employer from making a payroll deduction below a worker’s applicable minimum wage. Section 3 allows the director of the division of labor standards and statistics (division) to waive the penalty for an employer’s failure to pay claimed wages or compensation within 14 days after a written demand if certain specified conditions are met. Section 4 repeals language allowing requires a court to award find that an employee pursued a wage claim that lacked substantial justification before awarding an employer reasonable costs and attorney fees in a civil action for unpaid wages or compensation. in certain circumstances. In such an action, the court may pursue all equitable relief to deter future violations and prevent unjust enrichment.

Current law limits the ability of the director of the division to adjudicate claims for nonpayment of wages or compensation to $7,500 or less. Section 5 increases this threshold over the years by increasing the amount to $13,000 for claims filed from July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, and in an amount specified by the director of the division to adjust for inflation beginning January 1, 2028. Section 5 also requires the division, in adjudicating wage claims, to determine whether a violation is willful. For each violation:

The director shall publish on the division’s website the names of all employers found to be in violation and whether the violation was willful; and
If the violation is not remedied within 60 days after the division’s finding that there was a violation, the division must notify all government bodies with the authority to deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial conditions on the employer’s license, permit, registration, or other credential.

Additionally, the division may report an employer found to have violated a law related to wages and hours to any government body with authority to deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial conditions on a license, permit, registration, or other credential that the violating employer has or may seek. Section 5 also repeals language requiring the division to issue a determination on a wage complaint within 90 days and clarifies that a city or county may enact and enforce wage laws within the city or county’s jurisdiction . Section 6 requires an employer found to have misclassified an employee as a nonemployee to pay a fine in the following amounts, in addition to any other relief ordered:

For a willful violation, $5,000;
For a violation not remedied within 60 days after the division’s finding, $10,000;
For a second or subsequent willful violation within 5 years, $25,000; or
For a second or subsequent willful violation not remedied within 60 days after the division’s finding, $50,000.

The director of the division must adjust these fine amounts for inflation by January 1, 2028, and every other year thereafter.

Section 6 also decreases the amount of time the division must wait before paying an employee out of the wage theft enforcement fund from 6 months to 120 days.

Current law prohibits an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee for taking protection under wage and hour laws or the law related to the employment of minors. Section 7 expands this provision to specify additional protected behavior and expands the prohibition to include other persons in addition to employers. Section 7 also:

Requires a fact finder to consider the time between an individual’s exercise of a protected activity and an employer’s adverse action when determining whether an employer has retaliated against the employee or worker;
Specifies that any effort it is a violation to use an individual’s immigration status to negatively impact the wage and hour law rights, responsibilities, or proceedings of any employee or worker is an unlawful act of intimidation, threatening, coercion, discrimination, and retaliation to discriminate or retaliate against an employee or worker who has engaged in protected activity ; and
Allows the division to order reasonable attorney fees and costs after investigating a discrimination or retaliation claim.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Welcome to CUT Engaged

CUT Engaged is a new initiative by the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) designed to empower Colorado citizens to take direct action on legislation that impacts them. Through CUT Engaged, taxpayers can easily send messages to the sponsors of selected bills, urging them to support or oppose policies based on CUT’s pro-taxpayer stance.

How CUT Engaged Works

Stay Informed – CUT reviews key legislation and explains each bill’s impact on taxpayers.
Take Action – Each CUT Engaged post features a personalized form that allows you to email the bill sponsors directly.
Make Your Voice Heard – You can send CUT’s recommended message or personalize your email to include your own perspective.
Amplify Your Impact – You can add your state senator and representative to ensure they also hear your stance.
Legislators Get the Message – Your email is sent directly to the lawmakers responsible for the bill, with Kim Monson, President of CUT, as the reply-to contact for any legislative responses. This ensures CUT has full visibility of the communication and minimizes potential abuse of the system by bad actors.

Why CUT is Providing This to Colorado Taxpayers

For nearly 50 years, the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) has been the state’s leading advocate for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and taxpayer rights. CUT Engaged is an extension of this mission, making it easier than ever for Colorado citizens to have a voice in the legislative process.

Many bills pass without real public input. Lawmakers need to hear from the people who will be affected most—you, the taxpayer. CUT Engaged removes the barriers to participation, ensuring that Colorado’s taxpaying citizens can quickly and effectively communicate with legislators before critical votes take place.

Stay informed. Take action. Protect Colorado taxpayers.

CUT Engaged Opposed Bills

CUT Opposes HB25B-1006, Improve Affordability Private Health Insurance

This legislation appears to be a scheme to rob the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund. It is irresponsible to borrow $100M to cover today’s bills and

CUT Engaged

CUT Opposes HB25-1001, Enforcement Wage Hour Laws

Bill HB25-1001 Summary

Welcome to CUT Engaged

How CUT Engaged Works

Why CUT is Providing This to Colorado Taxpayers

CUT Engaged Opposed Bills

CUT Engaged Supported Bills

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