Gov. Jared Polis and state legislative leaders Sen. Leroy Garcia and Rep. Alec Garnett on Tuesday announced that the Colorado Legislature in the coming weeks will convene a special session to focus on providing COVID-related relief for residents and businesses.
“I’ll be asking the General Assembly to take up critical legislation that will help Colorado families and Colorado businesses survive these challenging winter months ahead to bridge us to the vaccine,” Polis said during a news conference.
The relief package, which will be funded from about $200 million from the state’s General Fund, will focus on those small businesses most impacted by capacity limits, housing and rental assistance, supporting child care providers to allow them to stay open, and expanding broadband access for students and educators, Polis said.
Garnett, D-Denver, who was elected earlier this month to serve as the next speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, said lawmakers’ conservative approach to drafting the budget has left money available for the relief package. He also said the special session was the right approach to tackling any relief the state can provide — which all at the news conference acknowledged will be less than previous federal relief efforts.
But all at the news conference also acknowledged that Colorado can’t wait on federal relief, or even until the Legislature convenes in January, to try and provide aid to businesses and people left reeling by the virus’ economic impacts.
“As we’ve waited for the federal government to act to provide relief to Coloradans … calls for someone to step up and help have grown and grown,” Garnett said, adding he receives calls daily from small businesses asking what will be done to help them as the state and nation await the ray of hope offered by a vaccine.
As of Tuesday, one in every 110 Coloradans is contagious with the coronavirus, Polis said. Statewide cases totaled 167,713 as of Tuesday, according to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment data. Hospitalizations stood at 11,203 Tuesday, while deaths among those with COVID totaled 2,578 and deaths caused by COVID totaled 2,276, according to state data.
In Boulder County, 8,910 residents have tested positive for COVID, 299 are hospitalized and the number of people who died with COVID totaled 108 on Tuesday, according to county data.
In Longmont, 2,563 people had tested positive or were considered probable for the virus as of Monday, according to the county data.
As cases and deaths continue climbing, Senate President Garcia, D-Pueblo, said the impacts on state residents keep piling up.
“The loss of life is only one piece of the devastation,” he said, pointing to lost jobs, lost life savings and lost family businesses “and not the least of all, lost hope” caused by the pandemic.
Details of the special session are still being worked out, but lawmakers will convene in person, with Garcia saying members’ safety will be a top priority.
