A bill to create a brand new state agency to oversee apprenticeship programs didnât sit well with many Republicans in the Colorado House on Tuesday.
Although the bill won preliminary approval in that Democratic-controlled chamber, Republicans argued that House Bill 1007 is too expensive and totally unneeded.
Under the bill, a new State Apprenticeship Agency would be created, one designed to be a conduit between existing and new apprenticeship programs and the U.S. Department of Laborâs Office of Apprenticeship. Currently, those programs register directly with the federal government.
The measure also would create a new State Apprenticeship Council and an Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship to help guide that agency, which would operate under the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.