A Message From the President: May 2022

    As the general assembly winds down the 2022 legislative session, CMA will be addressing several bills affecting Colorado’s business climate environment including radical measures imposing new health-based air toxic air quality standards. In fact, we may only be able to defeat some bills by seeing the clock run out of time for their consideration. For a complete discussion of the bills CMA is addressing, please read the legislative report included in this newsletter.

    Make sure to attend CMA’s political consultant Dick Wadhams’ session at the annual conference to hear his analysis of the upcoming 2022 midterm election, a projection of what the political landscape will look like following the election, and what the political environment will look like when the General Assembly convenes for its 2023 session.

    We hope you’ve signed up for CMA’s conference, June 8–10 in Grand Junction. As I’ve stated before, we’re tremendously excited to present the conference in Grand Junction this year. We’re especially excited to showcase other business and civic organizations supporting the western slope. We also have several panel discussions and presentations that will be informative to you and your company. Perhaps the most gratifying thing about the conference is the presentation of the joint CMA/DRMS awards for safety and reclamation, as well as our environmental stewardship award. Thank you again to all the wonderful sponsors who make our conference possible. We hope you’ll take advantage of all that the western slope offers in terms of recreation, dining, and hospitality, even if it means just taking a short drive to the Colorado Monument to enjoy an early morning drive or hike prior to the beginning of a conference day.

    Finally, I want to mention the work of CMA’s hardrock committee chaired by Miguel Hamarat of Freeport-McMoRan and Jim Sanderson of Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, PC who is representing the association in the upcoming Mined Land Reclamation Board rulemaking implementing HB19-1113 passed three years ago. Also included in the proposed rule changes are edits to rules pertaining to temporary cessation. The board will host a public hearing in May to consider this rule making package and we encourage members to view the public hearing and rulemaking proceedings. Thank you to all the members of the hardrock committee who are actively participating and supporting CMA’s efforts as we look forward to a good outcome in this rulemaking.