Colorado lawmakers to tackle small business relief, child care, housing in special session

Lawmakers will meet Nov. 30 for a special session on relief for small businesses and individual Coloradans, which state leaders have said is necessitated by the urgency of pandemic-related needs ahead of their regular session in January.

“Colorado families, restaurants, bars and small businesses can’t wait any longer for help — they need relief to get through the challenging months ahead,” Rep. Alec Garnett, D-Denver, said in a Nov. 19 statement from the governor’s office about the special session. Garnett was recently elected House speaker by his Democratic colleagues.

“We are going to pass targeted legislation that helps families avoid eviction and small businesses stay open to sustain our recovery and help Coloradans who have been hit hardest by the pandemic,” Garnett said.

In a Nov. 19 executive order, Gov. Jared Polis laid out his priorities for the special session, which parallel some of those he described for lawmakers in a proposed stimulus package that would require general fund money and cash fund transfers. The stimulus package would require $1.3 billion in adjustments to the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget, and includes a list of measures aimed at helping Colorado’s economy recover from the pandemic

Read more: https://coloradonewsline.com/2020/11/27/colorado-lawmakers-to-tackle-small-business-relief-child-care-housing-in-special-session/