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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday that he plans to bring lawmakers back into session to pass a $220 million stimulus package that would aid bars, restaurants, tenants, landlords and students.
The package focuses on the hardest hit areas of the economy including relief for restaurants and bars, childcare facilities, rental assistance that will go to both tenants and landlords and help for K-12 students with internet access, to include mobile hot spots.
This is in stark contrast to Washington state where no package is under consideration and the governor’s office is refusing to call for a special session to deal with the COVID crisis.
Colorado lawmakers see the urgency of passing a package quickly.
“The immediacy of the impact to businesses with capacity restrictions means we cannot wait until mid-January and get money out in February,” Colorado Joint Budget Committee member and state Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver stated to the Denver Post.
Washington lawmakers have made similar calls for a special session to address the crisis and impact to Washington workers and business but it is falling on deaf ears.
During the first shutdown earlier this year hundreds of businesses closed for good. Washington’s surviving businesses are just now starting to recover, and many will likely not survive another shutdown. Small business owners have extended lines of credit and taken loans to keep their employees on the payroll with the expectation that the shutdown would be for a limited amount of time.
The Washington State Legislature and its elected representatives need to be involved in the decision processes made for Washington and not left on the sideline.
The longer businesses are forced to stay closed without fiscal or regulatory relief; the more jobs will be lost in Washington.
