Colorado Office of Administrative Courts

The Colorado PYs 2024-2027 State Plan outlines the state's strategy for workforce development, focusing on aligning education, training, and employment opportunities with the needs of employers. Key priorities include increasing affordability and quality of career-connected education, promoting equitable economic opportunity, and enhancing access to programs by creating seamless connections between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. The plan emphasizes sector partnerships, career pathways, and leveraging data to guide investments, with a focus on serving individuals with barriers to employment and promoting economic self-sufficiency.

The primary focus of the meeting was to vote on proceeding with Mercer for a compensation comparison study. Discussion centered on defining the universe of states for comparison, specifically reviewing seven surrounding states (Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico). Members debated the merits of using only bordering states versus a broader selection based on comparable legislative workloads, such as part-time legislature status and length of session. The commission leaned towards using a larger dataset of approximately 15 states whose session lengths are closer to their own, rather than the initial seven bordering states, to ensure a more relevant comparison of workloads. A brief discussion on travel compensation versus per diem/mileage reimbursement standards was also held.

The meeting covered discussions on setting ground rules for interactions, including respectful communication and efficient use of time. The commission also discussed a shared repository for documents and the potential use of vendors to gather data on compensation, inflation, and cost of living in other states. A motion was passed to engage Mercer or another third-party vendor to assist with data gathering for setting salaries.

The meeting included a roll call and public comment period. There was a discussion regarding a shared repository for commission documents and an overview of interested parties. A presentation was given by Mercer representatives, detailing their experience and approach to compensation reviews, particularly for public sector entities. The presentation covered Mercer's structure, areas of expertise (health, wealth, and career), and their methodology for defensible compensation studies, emphasizing stakeholder engagement and contextual understanding. Two options for sourcing data were presented: using a custom peer list and factors for determining comparable peers, such as population size, geographic scope, terrain, and cost of living.

The commission discussed criteria for a study by Mercer, including cost of living, cost of labor, population, geographic size and location, region, and the inclusion of pension benefits for legislators. There was discussion about whether to use outside consultants, with some members preferring to focus on Colorado-specific data such as cost per day in session. Other topics included the length of legislative sessions, median income, and the possibility of telecommuting for legislators.