A Democrat majority House committee on March 5 killed Republican legislation to ease penalties on small businesses that break new state rules.

House Bill 1033, sponsored by Rep. Libby Szabo, D-Arvada, would have allowed small businesses with 100 or few employers to receive warnings rather than fines when they commit first-time violations of state rules that are less than a year old.

The bill was backed by Republicans and several business groups. However, Democrats on the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted in unison against the bill.

Szabo said Democrats got their marching orders from the AFL-CIO, the only group to testify against the bill during the committee hearing.