June 19, 2012 01:30 AM UTC

Governor Signs Rep. Robert Ramirez's Unemployment Insurance Bill

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• by: zzcarp

(There’s no question that Ramirez will use this on the campaign trail. Will it be enough? – promoted by Jeffco Pols)

Governor Hickenlooper signed State Representative Robert Ramirez‘s HB-1272 into law last week. HB-1272 authorizes enhanced benefits such as job training and unpaid internships without penalties for those receiving unemployment insurance.

Ashley Reimers of the Westminster Window, Westsider, and the Arvada Press reports:

House Bill 1272 extends a program until 2014 that was set to expire June 30. In the program, claimants can receive up to 50 percent more on their weekly unemployment benefit for up to 20 weeks if they are actively engaged in an approved training program. [Rep. Robert] Ramirez said at the beginning it took some time to convince some Republicans to get on board, but once he explained the bill, more people understood the concept of the bill.

“Some people felt the bill would just extend unemployment to people, but really it’s a bill that helps people get off the government payroll,” he said. “The first thing I’m concerned with is putting people back to work and helping people get their lives back on track.”

This bill will help Colorado’s unemployed by permitting retraining in new employment fields.  Pro-business groups such as the Colorado Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Colorado Republican Business Coalition, HB-1272 passed both houses of the Colorado General Assembly with bipartisan support.

State Representative Robert Ramirez, representing House District 29, is a freshman legislator running for his second term in the Colorado House. He faces a Democrat lawyer-lobbyist from Arvada and a Libertarian candidate from Westminster in the November general election.