Bill allowing more seasonal farm workers in state passes House panel

Farmers may soon be able to get help from the state government in finding the 9,000 to 10,000 temporary workers they say they need every season.

The House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted 7-4 Tuesday to approve a bill that would allow the Colorado agriculture industry to recruit workers from Mexico and help them obtain visas to work legally in the United States. It was introduced by Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan.

HB1325 would establish a five-year pilot program that would allow the state to hire agents in Mexico. They would recruit potential workers, complete their applications and arrange their transportation to and housing in Colorado. In the first year, 1,000 workers could use the program; that number would increase to 5,000 in its final year.

Laws governing the federal H-2A visa application program, which allows foreign nationals to come to the United States to work as farm workers, would remain the same. Applicants for Colorado jobs would not be able to remain in the U.S. after the agriculture season ends, and the federal government would still have to conduct background checks on every applicant. Employers would still have to show the U.S. Labor Department that Americans are unwilling to fill those jobs.

Looper said the bill wouldn't fix problems with the federal process, but she said it could speed it up. Workers would be identified in advance, and agents would work to ensure their applications are in order
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Employers would also be spared the $4,000 to $8,000 many currently pay to hire private firms to help them find workers, Looper said.

The bill's future remains uncertain. It has gone through several substantial rewrites changing its scope. The bill will go before the House Appropriations Committee. A hearing has not been scheduled.