Gov. Jared Polis, after several days of requests from state lawmakers, has issued a written executive order that details the state of emergency that he verbally ordered on Tuesday.

Executive Order D2020-003 notes that the governor activated the National Guard on March 10 to provide “planning, logistics, personnel and facilities” to the state. He also tapped $4 million from the state’s disaster emergency fund for COVID-19 responses.

The order also contains previously-announced measures, such as allowing those over 65 years old to renew driver’s licenses online; ordering the Department of Labor and Employment to conduct emergency rulemaking to ensure that workers in certain industries can receive paid sick leave for up to four days if they are being tested for COVID-19, and orders around paid sick leave for permanent and temporary state employees.

The written order also directs the labor department to identify “additional supports and wage replacement such as access to emergency unemployment assistance,” for those who don’t have access to paid leave.

“These steps are especially important for those who work with vulnerable populations like older Coloradans and those with underlying health issues. When those workers lack access to paid sick leave, it poses a great risk to our ability to protect the public,” Polis said in a statement Thursday.

The industries covered under the labor rulemaking are leisure and hospitality, food services, child care, education at all levels, home health care, operating a nursing home, or operating a community living facility. 

The written executive order is dated March 11 and runs out after 30 days, although Polis issued the verbal order on March 10, which is noted in the written document. The governor can extend the executive order if need be.

Gov. Jared Polis’ written executive order on the state of emergency.

Members of the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council, the six top legislative leaders from both parties and in both chambers, while acknowledging that the verbal order was legitimate, asked the governor’s legal counsel on Tuesday for a written order.

Sharon Eubanks, director of the Office of Legislative Legal Services, pointed out during Tuesday’s meeting that then-Gov. John Hickenlooper had issued 121 disaster emergency orders, although none for public health, and all had been in writing. That Polis had not put his Tuesday declaration into writing, she called “unusual.”

She also said that this type of emergency seems to require more notification, given that the General Assembly has the authority to revoke a declaration.