A bill for an ordinance repealing certain sections of Chapter 20, Article XI of the Denver Revised Municipal Code regarding Auditor subpoena power and production of records in connection with performance of internal audits and investigations and enforcement of prevailing and minimum wage. Repeals certain sections of Chapter 20, Article XI of the Denver Revised Municipal Code. Councilmember Gilmore approved direct filing this item on 3-3-22.
Thank you. Councilmember CdeBaca, Councilmember Kinney, we had you up. Are you good? Okay. All right. Thank you, Britta, for answering those questions and Angie Nelson for being here as well. We're going to go ahead and move on, Madam Secretary. Please put the next item up on our screens. Thank you. Councilmember Sawyer, will you please put Bill 273 on the floor for final passage? I move that council bill 20 2-0273 be placed upon final consideration and do pass. Thank you. It's been moved and seconded. Comments or questions by members of Council on Council Bill 20 2-273 Council Member State Abarca. This one I would like to call out for a vote. I mentioned last week that I did not support repealing the auditors subpoena power. While this is in litigation, I do believe we should be waiting for the litigation to to go through or until we have an alternative that is better drafted and ready to approve simultaneously or prior to the repeal. So just going on the record as a no for this tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Kinney. Thank you. Council president. I voted for this last week without comment. This week I just wanted to clarify. I had gotten some email traffic from constituents asking that we not pass this bill because it would harm those who have wage claims. And I wanted to make really clear to the community that our wage ordinances have significant leverage in them. For the auditor to be able to access records. They include penalties for not producing those records. They include daily fines in some cases and penalties. So there are a number of enforcement mechanisms for our minimum wage, our local minimum wage ordinance that already exists. I is a co-sponsor of the minimum wage bill. We looked at some of the best practices across the country in terms of enforcement, including things like allowing anonymous complaints where the auditor simply gets a tip that there is underpayment and then goes in and asks for the record, even if there's not an individual employee who feels safe enough complaining. So I don't want anyone to think that wage enforcement is going to stop if the subpoena power goes away. This was about where there is a dispute and wanting to find a less costly way of going to the courts for those wage dispute record requests. Typically, that's what a subpoena would be for. There is where someone is withholding the records. I will just state the state of Colorado also has. Access to wage records through state law. So there are just a number of safeguards here. And I did support the original subpoena power and believed it was helpful to have another tool for their small number of cases where it may apply. And there may be some conversation coming about a subpoena power just for those wage claims. But just to be clear, there are numerous legal powers, penalties, daily fines, etc., in place. Wage enforcement can and should will continue even in the absence of the subpoena power, which which really came after thousands of wage complaints had already been processed and had been successfully recovered for workers. So I want to make clear, to the credit of our auditing team, a wage Denver labor team, they recovered many, many wage claims before the subpoena power was put in place. And I expect them and to continue doing that. Hopefully we work ourselves out a business where everyone is up to date and paying the wages they're supposed to. That would be great news. But in the meantime, we have lots of tools. So I will be supporting this again tonight for the reasons stated by my colleagues last week, but wanted to clarify the record. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Kinney. Councilmember Flynn. Thank you, Madam President. I am not willing to waste taxpayer money on fruitless and frivolous litigation. It's really unfortunate that we have to do this, that we have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. But repealing this ordinance that was passed last year because of the lawsuit that was filed is a necessary move to moot the lawsuit and start again. And to Councilwoman Kasich's point, we are drafting and we are bringing to Finance and Governance Committee next week a new bill that would address only the wage enforcement subpoena authority, which is the councilwoman noted, is little used if well hadn't been used yet. But there are plenty of other mechanisms in place as well. This is another tool that we all, I believe, wanted the auditor to have. This was not the controversial part of the ordinance that led to the auditor filing the suit. So next week at Fin Govt committee we will hear the new bill that would restore a subpoena power for wage enforcement, wage theft investigations, minimum wage, prevailing wage and take that under consideration. Then invite the auditor back to try to authentically engage on the more controversial aspect of performance and internal audits and subpoena power there, and how we can safeguard the security of of proprietary and confidential information. And with that, Madam President, I urge us all to. Take the final vote on this, repeal it and then start over and do it right this time. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Flynn. Madam Secretary, roll call on Council Bill 22, Dash 273, please. CdeBaca No. Clark. I. Flynn, I. Herndon, I. Cashman I can eat. Ortega, I. Sandoval, I swear, I. Torres, I. Black eye. Madam President. I. Madam Secretary, please close the voting and announce the results. One day, 11 eyes. 11 Eyes Council Bill 20 2-273 has passed. That concludes the items to be called out this evening. All other bills for introduction are ordered published. Council members remember this is a consent or block vote and you will need to vote. Otherwise, this is your last chance to call out the item for a separate vote. Councilmember Sawyer, will you please put the resolutions for adoption and the bills on final consideration for final passage on the floor? I move that resolutions be adopted and bills on final consideration be placed upon final consideration, and do pass in a block for the following items. All Series 20 202220227. Hold on. I got to scroll down here. 02570263024700780255025102520253022902480179. And that's it. All right. Thank you, Councilmember Sawyer. And it's been moved and seconded. Madam Secretary, roll call. Black I. CdeBaca, I. Clerk. All right. Flynn All right. Herndon. Ah. Cashman. Kenny Ortega, I. Sandoval, I. Sawyer, I. Torres, I. Madam President, I. Madam Secretary. Close the voting and announce the results. 12 eyes. 12 eyes. The resolutions have been adopted and the bills have been placed upon final consideration and do pass. Our pre recess announcement tonight there will be a required public hearing on Council Bill 20 2-1116 changing the zoning classification for 900 North Monaco Street Parkway in Montclair and a required public hearing on Council Bill 20 2-125 Changing the