The Post Editorial Polis’ overreach on budget and ballot

Gov. Jared Polis should have consulted with lawmakers in charge of the state budget before spending any of the federally allocated $1.674 billion in emergency funds. And he should have allowed lawmakers to allocate whatever wasn’t urgently needed for the 2019-2020 fiscal year through the extensive General Assembly budgeting process.

Polis has been given broad, sweeping authority under the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act for times exactly like these where the state and the nation are facing an immediate threat from a novel coronavirus that spreads rapidly and has killed approximately 1% of those it has likely infected.

As part of that authority, we expected Polis to spend a good chunk of the federal money made available to him by the federal CARES Act, but only the money that needed to be immediately spent this fiscal year responding directly to the crisis. We could see the need for a governor to quickly get millions of dollars out the door for testing, contact tracing, enforcing public health orders, and acquiring personal protective equipment for hospitals, nursing homes and state operations. The needs during this crisis are many.

However, Polis’ executive order spends the full $1.674 billion and includes millions of dollars for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. That money certainly should be available to the Joint Budget Committee as it meticulously — agency by agency — considers need. It’s not too late for Polis to undo his order, and make the portion expending money next fiscal year, a recommendation to the Joint Budget Committee and to the Colorado representatives and senators who have ultimate authority in passing the budget.

We have been pleased with how Polis has used his executive powers to respond to the crisis. His leadership has saved lives. Polis responded swiftly to close the ski industry before Colorado’s high country became overwhelmed with coronavirus cases. His orders shuttering non-essential places of business prevented hospitals across the state from being overwhelmed with patients in respiratory distress. And Polis was among the first governors to begin reopening when the number of hospitalizations and deaths in Colorado began to decline.

But just because Polis has the authority under the disaster emergency law doesn’t mean he should exercise it.

Consider a separate executive order Polis issued suspending rules and laws relating to how signatures are gathered to put questions on the November ballots. Polis’ goal is a good one: to prevent in-person petition gathering as that could spread the virus, but enable petitioners to still exercise their constitutional authority to put matters on the ballot through a petition process.

The only problem is that if Polis suspends the rules regulating how petition signatures are collected, it opens up a wide door for abuse. No one wants that. So Polis included with his order directions that the secretary of state draft rules regarding the electronic acquisition of signatures. We are less skeptical than many that signatures can be gathered electronically in a safe and secure manner.

But those careful changes would need to come from the General Assembly, not from the secretary of state in what seems like a vast overreach of authority to not just suspend laws but craft entirely.

Polis needs to reconsider both actions. His legacy as a leader during this crisis depends not only on the bold steps but on his ability to seek counsel and show restraint in using his powers.