HB 23-1073

House Bill 23-1073 limits how long the governor can declare a state of disaster emergency in Colorado without approval from the legislature. Instead of being able to renew these declarations indefinitely, the bill requires the governor to ask the General Assembly (the state's legislative body) for permission to extend an emergency beyond 30 days. The General Assembly can then decide whether to grant extensions every 30 days as needed. Since this bill has been signed into law, the governor now operates under these new rules when declaring or extending disaster emergencies.

Official Summary

The bill prohibits the governor from renewing a state of disaster emergency declared beyond 30 days. Instead, the bill authorizes the general assembly, upon the written request of the governor and by adopting a joint resolution, to extend the state of disaster emergency for up to 30 additional days. The general assembly may continue, at the written request of the governor and by adopting a joint resolution for each extension, to extend a state of disaster emergency for periods of up to 30 days for as long as it deems it necessary to do so. If the general assembly is not scheduled to convene in a regular session when a state of disaster emergency will end as required by the bill, the governor or a two-thirds majority of the members of each house of the general assembly, in accordance with applicable state constitutional provisions, may call the general assembly into an extraordinary session to consider extending the state of disaster emergency.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)