Pandemic could force lawmakers to be flexible

Colorado’s legislature plans to convene at the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 13 to mark the start of its 2021 session.

How lawmakers will manage the rest of the session calendar, however, is very much undecided.

In a typical year, sessions run for 120 consecutive days, starting in January and ending in May. But last year, lawmakers paused their session in March because of the pandemic. They resumed in May and didn’t conclude until midJune.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the 120 days could be conducted nonconsecutively, which afforded the legislature some scheduling flexibility during the state of emergency.

Capitol leaders fully expect they may have to be flexible again this year.

“I think it’s almost certain that it won’t be 120 consecutive days, where we end the second Wednesday in May. That’s highly unlikely,” said Senate Minority Leader Chris Holbert, a Parker Republican.

News this week of a promising vaccine developed by Pfizer changes the equation. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said he expects the average American can expect to be vaccinated by the spring, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis predicted that more than 100,000 highpriority recipients could be vaccinated in this state next month.

If all goes according to plan and if it appears that a vaccine effectively can end the pandemic in the coming months, lawmakers would have the option to postpone some of the session, if not the bulk of it. Senate President Leroy Garcia said it would be hard to argue against such a path.

“I wouldn’t say that’s farfetched. If there’s a scenario ( like that), I think most of us would say that’s a reasonable approach, that’s a safer approach,” said the Pueblo Democrat. “The caveat is if it actually plays out that way.”

Garcia and other legislative leaders are determined to begin the session in January no matter what, because there is some essential, first- week business to conduct — starting with swearing in new members. Polis is scheduled to give his annual State of the State address inside the state House of Representatives on the second day of the session.

“I’ve been asked the question more than any other question in recent weeks: ‘ Is it true that you’re going to gavel in ( on Jan. 13) and gavel out, then take two or three months off?’ I don’t know,” said Holbert.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will be ready in January with piles of new bills, many of which will concern various forms of pandemic relief. It is possible, lawmakers say, that the legislature will spend time early in the session prioritizing certain bills deemed urgent.

Which bills pass, and when, is up to Democrats, because they control both chambers. It was their decision to pause the session in March, and next year’s calendar will be in their hands, too.

Incoming House Speaker Alec Garnett, a Denver Democrat, said he was encouraged by the back half of the last session, when lawmakers mostly wore masks and desks were separated by partitions that are still standing.

“We did make it through three weeks without an outbreak,” he said. “But it was a different time in terms of spike, and the weather was warm.”

It’s getting colder now, driving more people indoors as the virus spreads uncontrolled throughout the state and country. House Republicans met this week at the Capitol, and only one of the 24 caucus members wore a mask. The new leader of that caucus, Hugh McKean of Loveland, did not respond to a request for comment for this story. His Senate counterpart, Holbert, said he plans to wear a mask next session and encourages others to do so.

The public health threat potentially posed at the Capitol next year by antimask lawmakers, Garcia said, is all the more reason to wait before committing to any particular session schedule.

But he was clear that he does not want to allow concerns about unmasked lawmakers to dictate scheduling for the rest of state government.

“You don’t negotiate with terrorists,” he said.