After being back in session more than a week, statehouse Democrats announced their coronavirus recovery package Thursday afternoon, including small business loans, sick leave and protections for health care workers.

Lawmakers have been hammering away at a state budget decimated by the economic crisis that sprang from the shutdown deployed in March to slow the spread of the deadly virus across the country.

Some of the bills announced Thursday amount to the state spending the federal relief money handed out so far, though state and local budgets across the state are anxious for another stimulus package to bail out their losses.

“We are working to pass legislation that directly supports families and small businesses, helps Coloradans get back to work safely and protects the health and safety of our communities,” House Speaker KC Becker of Boulder said in a statement. “Coloradans are looking to us for leadership and how we will help them rebuild their lives. These bills provide direct support to help hardworking Coloradans afford to stay in their homes, pay their bills and make ends meet.”

Senate President Leroy Garcia said in the joint press release that lawmakers are working hard to restore the economy while helping small businesses and return “the hardworking people of Colorado” to their jobs.

“This pandemic has hurt so many across our state, so it is critical that we come together and put party politics aside to pass legislation that prioritizes vulnerable communities and the economic wellbeing of all Coloradans,” he stated.

House Majority Leader Alec Garnett of Denver called recovery a top legislative priority, and that the package announced Thursday would “help small businesses get back on their feet, protect workers who report safety violations, improve access to behavioral health care and put an end to outrageous price gouging on essential goods.”

Senate Majority Leader Fenberg of Boulder added, “These bills work to provide direct relief to Coloradans who have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and help our state recover responsibly. From stronger unemployment insurance to health care access and paid sick leave, we are forging policies that will ease financial burdens and protect people’s health.”

Some of the bills in the package have already been filed, while others haven’t:

• Directing $20 million to the Energize Colorado to assist small businesses of 25 employees or less impacted by COVID-19, with preference to businesses owned by veterans, women or minorities.
• Establishing a $250 million business recovery loan, using state and private money for two years.
• Allocating $15 million for the the Colorado Department of Human Services and Department of Public Health and Environment into mental health and substance abuse treatment, with an eye toward helping those out of work and young people affected by the stress and isolation of the outbreak.
• Providing whistleblower protections for public health workers who raise health and safety concerns.
• Providing paid sick leave through Senate Bill 205 to allow people to take time off when they’re sick, especially those on the lower end of the wage scale.
• Assuring ongoing reimbursement from insurers for telehealth services thought Senate Bill 212.  
• Providing $500,000 in coronavirus relief money for the state’s 2-1-1 information hotline through House Bill 1197.
• Providing $500,000 in relief money for the state’s domestic violence program through a state budget amendment.
• Providing $20 million in direct rental and mortgage assistance for those in need during, including $350,000 for legal aid for renters facing eviction.
• Providing $10 million to the state’s Energy Outreach Colorado Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund to help low-income people who risk having their power service discontinued.
• Stopping price gouging by defining the practice and empowering state and local prosecutors more enforcement authority.
• Allocating $500,000 for food pantry assistance, which also is aims to “create new market opportunities for Colorado agricultural products,” Democrats said in their Thursday statement.
• Expanding access to unemployment insurance earnings and eligibility level through Senate Bill 207.  
• Strengthening protections for those in debt through Senate Bill 211, expanding the attorney general’s oversight on such collection practices as wage garnishment, freezing “extraordinary” debt collection practices, establishing a minimum grace period for payments to resume and requiring payments based on a consumer’s ability to repay the debt.