Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC Releases 2025 Legislative Agenda

With Colorado’s General Assembly beginning on Jan. 8, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC is pleased to release the 2025 Legislative Agenda, outlining key policy priorities designed to strengthen the local economy, support business growth, and enhance workforce development.

The 2025 agenda emphasizes advocacy for pro-business legislation, streamlined regulatory processes, and investments in infrastructure to meet the region’s growing needs. Workforce readiness remains a central focus, with initiatives aimed at expanding access to education, training programs, and affordable housing to ensure a strong talent pipeline.

The Chamber & EDC encourages members and community stakeholders to engage with policymakers and participate in discussions to advance these priorities throughout the legislative session.

For questions or additional information, contact Devin Camacho, Director of Government Affairs, at DCamacho@cscedc.com.

Our Philosophy

As the largest and broadest based business advocate for our region, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC works to achieve economic prosperity and acts as a catalyst for business innovation and growth. The Chamber & EDC is actively involved in legislative and regulatory issues affecting our business community and communicates employer needs to elected officials and partners to build a positive business climate where companies of all kinds can thrive. We are nonpartisan and rely on data and member input to inform our policy priorities.

The Chamber & EDC evaluates policies based on the following guiding principles:

• Free markets and competition ensure high service levels, innovation, and competitive pricing.
• Taxes, fees, and regulations must not stifle a thriving economy or pose undue burden on businesses, they should be narrowly focused on strategic and necessary goals, undergo a cost/benefit analysis resulting in a positive ratio, and be easy for businesses to understand and comply with.
• Proactive economic development programs help our community attract, retain, and expand businesses that provide high-quality jobs for our residents. These jobs, in turn, improve the quality of life for residents.

In 2025, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC will focus on legislation falling broadly into the following categories:

Support Proactive Housing Policy

Support increasing attainable and affordable workforce housing stock regionally and statewide. Housing policy must help the market meet our community’s talent needs and enhance the region’s ability to compete nationally for growth opportunities. Housing policies should remove barriers to construction and incentivize development instead of placing new costs on buyers and renters. Policies should encourage cooperation and partnership between all levels of government, the private and nonprofit entities to bring more units to market for all income levels.

Improve and Protect the Business Regulatory Climate

Work to ensure that job creators are supported with a common sense, stable, and business-friendly regulatory environment. We will contest unnecessary or burdensome regulation that unfairly hinders employers as they work to grow, hire, and thrive in our community. Policies should be built on incentives and allow employers flexibility to implement them in a way that best fits their unique operational environments, rather than on rigid mandates and punitive fine structures. We will press for fair and balanced guidelines where regulation is appropriate, so the business community or specific industries are not unfairly or disproportionately impacted. Regulations must be realistic, effective, efficient, and enforceable.

Ensure Good Governance, Efficiency, and Transparency

Responsive, efficient, effective government provides the infrastructure upon which businesses grow and thrive. We must have transparent and predictable processes for licensing, inspections, and any other government requirement that would affect an employer’s operations. We are vigilant in protecting against inefficient government spending and advancing greater government accountability.

Grow and Diversify our Regional Economy

Proactive and focused economic development efforts are key to raising incomes and providing resilience against future downturns for our region’s workforce. We will support policies that help grow and educate a future-oriented workforce ready to meet the needs of expanding industries. We will support well-considered and specific incentives to help attract new employers in targeted industries to the Pikes Peak Region, ensuring new high-wage jobs.