Republicans in the Colorado Legislature are unlikely to support a bill this year that would reform union formation laws in the state.

“We should think twice before we upend an 80-year balance,” Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, said during a legislative preview panel hosted by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

The chamber is opposed to the legislation and will prioritize arguing against it this year, CEO J.J. Ament told the gathered lawmakers, lobbyists and business leaders.

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A group of Democrats announced the bill late last year to repeal Colorado’s Labor Peace Act of 1943. That law requires a second vote — following a successful simple majority union formation vote — of 75 percent of eligible workers for negotiations to begin over whether all employees should be required to pay representation fees to the union regardless of membership. That requirement is known as union security. Proponents of the anticipated bill argue that Colorado’s dual election system is an onerous barrier to achieving a strong union with proper negotiation power over working conditions and safety.

The bill has the backing of many Democratic lawmakers and state officials, though not Democratic Governor Jared Polis, who vetoed a pair of labor-related bills last year and expressed skepticism of this new proposal. The bill will be sponsored by House Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon of Denver, Representative Javier Mabrey of Denver, Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez of Denver and Senator Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge.

The business community, however, characterizes the Labor Peace Act as a proven compromise between labor and business interests that has served Colorado well as a modified “right-to-work” state for eight decades.

Lundeen, on Tuesday, said the bill could be an “enormous cost driver” to doing business in the state, because it would create uncertainty.

House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican, said she hadn’t heard of any issues with the current system.

“But I am open to conversations,” she said. “I want to understand why these issues are arising now.”

Neither House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, nor incoming Senate President James Coleman, a Denver Democrat, said whether they plan to support the bill, but they said they want labor and business interests to work together on a legislative solution.

“We can be business friendly and worker friendly. I really lift up the voice of the workers in the workplace” McCluskie said. “In spirit, I want to see us come together — our business leaders as well as our labor partners, to talk about this issue and negotiate at the table about what should come next for our great state. I trust that will happen.”

The Legislature begins its 120-day regular session Wednesday.

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