On March 11th, Executive Order D-003 declared a statewide emergency as a result of COVID-19 reaching Colorado, and thereafter, many jurisdictions also declared local disaster. With emergency declarations in place, county governments gained additional authority to respond to the rapidly evolving pandemic environment, and gained better access to federal assistance through FEMA and the CARES Act.
 
With most emergency declarations enacted in March, the decision-making pivoted to the extension of these declarations, and this process looks different across counties. CCI sampled a few counties to understand where they are headed in this realm, and learned about Adams County’s automatic renewal resolution, La Plata County’s one-time extension resolution, Jefferson County’s repeat extension resolutions, and Prowers County’s regular extension ratification process. All of these counties intend to keep their declarations in place through the end of the year, but are maintaining the flexibility to extend it further, or withdraw it depending on local evaluation of the pandemic status.
 
Click here to view the related resources to see how these counties are managing the extension of their emergency declarations.