Executive Order D 2020 070: Directing the Expenditure of Federal Funds Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020
Summary
Colorado Governor Jared Polis's Executive Order D 2020 070, given May 18, 2020, directs how the State spends the approximately $1.674 billion it received from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund. The order recites that the money must cover necessary COVID-19 expenditures incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020. The largest directives send $510,000,000 to the Colorado Department of Education, distributed to school districts on a per pupil basis, and $450,000,000 to the Colorado Department of Higher Education, whose institutions commit to raise FY 2020-21 resident undergraduate tuition by no more than three (3) percent or seek a waiver. It also moves $48,000,000 and $157,000,000 to the Disaster Emergency Fund, keeps $275,000,000 for local governments that received no direct CARES Act distribution, and transfers $70,000,000 to the State General Fund.
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Full text
D 2020 070
EXECUTIVE ORDER
Directing the Expenditure of Federal Funds Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act of 2020
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor of the State of Colorado and, in
particular, pursuant to Article IV, Section 2 of the Colorado Constitution, I, Jared Polis,
Governor of the State of Colorado, hereby issue this Executive Order directing the expenditure
of federal funds pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020
(CARES Act), Public Law 116-136.
I. Background and Purpose
The CARES Act provides emergency assistance in response to the coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which
provides payments to state, local, and tribal governments navigating the impact of COVID-
19. Colorado’s State government received approximately $1.674 billion from the Coronavirus
Relief Fund pursuant to the CARES Act. Under the CARES Act, a state must use the funds from
the Coronavirus Relief Fund to cover expenses that (1) are necessary expenditures incurred due
to the COVID-19 public health emergency (COVID-19 emergency); (2) were not accounted for
in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES
Act) for the State; and (3) were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and
ends on December 30, 2020. As Governor, I have the authority to direct the expenditure of these
federal funds.
Pursuant to the CARES Act, I certified to the United States Department of the Treasury
on April 15, 2020, that the State’s proposed use of the funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund
would comply with the specified purposes in the CARES Act. The State of Colorado has created
the CARES Act Fund to receive Coronavirus Relief Fund moneys prior to allocation for eligible
expenditures.
My administration, along with other State, local, and federal authorities, has taken a wide
array of actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, prevent further spread, and protect
against overwhelming our health care resources. The funds received by the State from the
Coronavirus Relief Fund are essential for mitigating the effects of the pandemic. This Executive
Order disburses those funds for the purposes described below.
Executive Order D 2020 070
May 18, 2020
Page 2 of 4
II. Directives
A. I direct the following expenditures of federal funds received by the State pursuant
to the CARES Act:
1. Forty-eight million dollars ($48,000,000) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20
and one hundred fifty-seven million dollars ($157,000,000) for FY 2020-
21 to be transferred from the CARES Act Fund to the Disaster Emergency
Fund to respond directly to the COVID-19 emergency, such as by
addressing medical or public health needs. These funds will be available
for current and planned public health expenses.
2. One million dollars ($1,000,000) for FY 2019-20 and seven million
dollars ($7,000,000) for FY 2020-21 to be transferred from the CARES
Act Fund to the Colorado Department of Corrections for expenditures to
comply with public health measures pertaining to maintaining State
prisons, including sanitation and effectively implementing social
distancing measures.
3. One million dollars ($1,000,000) for FY 2019-20 and one million dollars
($1,000,000) for FY 2020-21 to be transferred from the CARES Act Fund
to the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) for expenditures
to comply with public health measures pertaining to maintaining veterans
living facilities and other State facilities with congregate care, including
relating to sanitation and improvement of social distancing measures.
4. Thirty-seven million dollars ($37,000,000) for FY 2020-21 to be
transferred from the CARES Act Fund to the Colorado Department of
Education (CDE) for expenditures incurred to respond to second-order
effects of the COVID-19 emergency, in particular the increased number of
at-risk pupils due to the COVID-19-driven recession.
5. Two million dollars ($2,000,000) for FY 2019-20 and twenty million
dollars ($20,000,000) for FY 2020-21 to be transferred from the CARES
Act Fund to CDHS for expenditures incurred to respond to second-order
effects of the COVID-19 emergency, specifically for increased caseload
due to the COVID-19-driven recession.
6. Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for FY 2019-20 transferred from the
CARES Act Fund to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)
for expenditures incurred to respond to second-order effects of the
COVID-19 emergency, specifically for emergency rental and mortgage
assistance to low to moderate income individuals, as well as additional
direct assistance, if appropriate, for individuals that have been
economically impacted by COVID-19, with preference given to
Executive Order D 2020 070
May 18, 2020
Page 3 of 4
individuals who are ineligible for other forms of assistance such as
unemployment insurance, food benefits, or direct federal stimulus
payments.
7. Five hundred ten million dollars ($510,000,000) for FY 2019-20 to be
transferred from the CARES Act Fund to CDE for expenditures associated
with actions to facilitate compliance with COVID-19-related public health
measures, including facilitating distance learning and social distancing for
in-person contact hours, mitigating lost learning, and the provision of
economic support in connection with the COVID-19 emergency to
stimulate the economy by supporting Colorado’s workforce through
increasing free instructional hours for our kindergarten through 12th grade
education system. All funds must be distributed on a per pupil basis to
local school districts, and proportionally by student population to the
Charter School Institute and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the
Blind, and $25,000 to each Board of Cooperative Educational Services
(BOCES).
8. Four hundred fifty million dollars ($450,000,000) for FY 2019-20 to be
transferred from the CARES Act Fund to the Colorado Department of
Higher Education for expenditures associated with actions to facilitate
compliance with COVID-19-related public health measures and with the
provision of economic support in connection with the COVID-
19 emergency to stimulate the economy by supporting Colorado’s
workforce through increasing student retention and completions at state
institutions of public higher education. Institutions receiving such funds
commit to raise by no more than three (3) percent their FY 2020-21
resident undergraduate tuition rate, or to seek a waiver of this requirement
from the Governor’s Office.
9. Twenty-eight million nine hundred twenty thousand dollars ($28,920,000)
for FY 2019-20 and fifty-five million nine hundred twenty thousand
dollars ($55,920,000) for FY 2020-21 in the CARES Act Fund shall
remain available for payroll expenses and other necessary expenditures for
public safety, public health, health care, human services, and similar
employees whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or
responding to the COVID-19 emergency.
10. Two hundred seventy-five million dollars ($275,000,000) for FY 2019-20
and FY 2020-21 in the CARES Act Fund shall remain available for units
of local government that did not receive a direct distribution of funds in
the CARES Act for expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19-
related public health measures. The distribution will be informed by the
recommendations from the Local Government consortium hosted by
DOLA, as well as best practices from other states.
Executive Order D 2020 070
May 18, 2020
Page 4 of 4
B. I transfer seventy million dollars ($70,000,000) from the CARES Act Fund to the
State General Fund for eligible expenditures pursuant to the CARES Act
Coronavirus Relief Fund.
C. I direct the Office of the State Controller to issue instructions regarding the
distribution of the funds described in Section II, and to monitor their expenditure.
I designate the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting as the final
authority for resolution of any issues that may arise during the expenditure or
allocation of these funds.
III. Duration
This Executive Order shall remain in effect unless modified or rescinded by future
Executive Order of the Governor.
GIVEN under my hand and
the Executive Seal of the
State of Colorado, this
eighteenth day of May, 2020
Jared Polis
Governor
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