Yesterday, two stay-at-home orders were issued, one for residents of Jefferson County and then later Governor Polis announced a similar statewide order. Even though both entities have taken a series of steps leading up to this point, it simply hasn't been enough to slow the transmission of the virus. Jeffco's order was slated to last until April 17, but they have since rescinded their order to align with the state's order which goes through Saturday, April 11.   

What do these orders mean? Here is a link to an FAQ that spells out some of the details. Unless you work for a critical business or are doing an essential activity, you should stay home. Although this order does not apply to critical business, social distancing will be mandated for those
businesses that remain open. Critical functions such as shopping for food, picking up prescriptions, and outdoor activity that does not involve public gatherings, are all still permitted.

Given the new orders, I am unsure if the State Senate will return to work on March 30 as planned. We suspended the session to protect public health and we filed a brief with the Colorado Supreme Court to get clarity on whether this time away during a public health crisis counts toward our  120 day legislative clock. Once the Supreme Court resolves this question, we will have a better idea of our timing going forward. 

In the meantime,  the Joint Budget Committee has continued to gather data and we are watching several of the economic and budget indicators to assess the impact of COVID-19 to the state budget. We were very pleased that t he U.S. Senate approved an estimated $2 trillion stimulus package. While we do not have details or actual dollars figures specific to Colorado quite yet, the assistance is badly needed and will help. 

I hope that you are coping with our new stay-at-home reality. Here is an article that has some good suggestions on how to deal with this difficult. It suggests reaching out to one another and checking in. Don't forget to exercise both your  body and mind. They recommend setting up a routine, as well as staying  positive. And lastly, you should try and l imit your time on social media. Take care!