Updated Numbers, The State Budget, & Small Business Resources 

Hello Friends, Family, and Neighbors-
The General Assembly has extended the recess of the legislative session. It is likely that we will be back in session on May 18th. I am still checking emails daily and am involved in the COVID-19 response in the San Luis Valley and Southern Colorado. Do not hesitate to reach out to me if I can be of help to you or your organization.
COVID-19 Updates
Graphic sourced from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

As of May 7th, Colorado has had 18,371 cases, with 3,557 hospitalized and 944 deaths. It is still Safer-at-Home right now! If you do need to leave your home, please make sure to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Wearing a mask can be uncomfortable, but it protects yourself and others.
* Some non-essential businesses have started to open back up with some restrictions in place to continue to limit the spread of the virus. Visit the Safer-at-Home website ([link removed]) to find out more information on the measures businesses should be taking as they reopen in order to protect employees and customers.

Southern Colorado
The San Luis Valley now has 52 positive cases in which 11 have been hospitalized, 21 have completed isolation and are no longer exhibiting symptoms, and 2 have died. The jump in cases is attributed to an outbreak at the Colorado Mushroom Farm ([link removed]) in Alamosa. During a contact tracing investigation, it was found that 9 people in Saguache that had been in contact with positive cases had symptoms.

Alamosa County- 27
Conejos County- 1
Costilla County- 3
Mineral County- 2
Rio Grande County- 7
Saguache County- 12

Huerfano County has 2 positive cases.

Pueblo County has a total of 169 positive and probable cases out of 2,318 tested. 11 people have died.
The State Budget

Many of you have reached out to me already with concerns about the predicted $2-$3 billion shortfall in the budget and the cuts we will have to decide on once we reconvene. These will be some of the hardest decisions of my 4 years in the legislature, as these cuts will likely impact every individual in the state of Colorado in some way or another.

We are hopeful that the Federal Government will provide unrestricted funds to states to use for the predicted shortfalls, but we have to plan for a worst-case scenario at this point. I will do everything I can to advocate for the programs, funding, and grants that Southern Colorado depends on to ensure we can move forward after this crisis.

The Joint Budget Committee began meeting on Monday, May 4th to begin discussing the proposals submitted by nonpartisan JBC staff. You can review some of the proposed cuts as well as budget documents here ([link removed]) . You can listen to the JBC hearings here ([link removed]) .

* On Monday, cuts were made to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, PERA, and Veterans Affairs. Some of the notable cuts included:
$20 million from CDLE that included a fund that pays medical insurance claims from industrial accidents between 1971 and 1981, a skilled worker outreach program, and a petroleum storage tank fund.
$2.5 million from an education program that seeks to increase the state's vaccination rates, particularly for MMR.
$200,000 from a veteran career service fund.


* On Tuesday, JBC cut more than $160 million from the budget. Some of the big cuts were the elimination of a 3% raise for state employees for 2020-2021, decreasing the state employee reserve fund used to pay for merit increases, $3.5 million from the Department of Law, $9.1 million in recovery from the 2013 floods, a $1.2 million digital services program that assists state organizations with information technology.


* On Wednesday JBC discussed Transportation Capital Construction, and Health Care Policy and Financing. Transportation does not receive general funds, so the only cut was to a $500,000 education program on the impacts of driving under the influence of marijuana. Capital Construction appropriations were cut by $166 million and annual depreciation-lease equivalent payments saving $7.5 million. Large cuts to health care were postponed for now, but the Commission on Family Medicine was cut by $1 million and there were reductions in Healthy Communities Outreach, Senior Dental Program, and Electronic Medical Records.


* On Thursday, cuts to K-12 and Higher Education were discussed. JBC voted to cut future funding for the K-12 quality teacher recruitment fund saving $2 million, as well as cut funding for school bullying prevention, computer science grants for teachers, and grants for low-income students to take AP exams. Reductions were made for behavioral health professionals, the workforce diploma pilot, and the school leadership pilot. In higher education, the 7% increase in funding for state colleges and universities was eliminated saving $73 million, as well as a $5 million decrease in merit-based aid for students. Higher Ed saw cuts totaling $105 million.

Register to Vote!

Don't forget to remind your friends and family to register to vote. Colorado makes it easy to do. Visit the Secretary of State website ([link removed]) to register, change your party affiliation, and find general voting information.
Thank you to our teachers and nurses on the front line. We appreciate everything you do! I hope you had a chance to thank a teacher during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4th-May 8th) and a nurse during Nurse Appreciation Week (May 5th-May 12th).
Paycheck Protection Program

Reminder that another $300 billion in funding was approved for the Paycheck Protection Program. If you are a small business interested in applying for this loan program, please do it as soon as possible. Visit your local lender to see if you qualify and to apply.

There were some issues in the first round of the program with publicly traded businesses receiving loans. Around $10 billion in funds has been returned already. In the second round, loans over $2 million will have to go through an audit process. Hopefully with some of the new mechanisms in the second round, small businesses that truly need these funds will be the ones who receive them.

If you applied during the first round of PPP funding and did not receive it, check with your lending institution to see if you need to do another application or if they can use your first application for this round. It really is at the discretion of the lending institution.
Small Business Resources
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has an extensive list of Coronavirus Relief ([link removed]) resources for small business including information about the Paycheck Protection Program ([link removed]) , EIDL Loan Advance ([link removed]) , SBA Express Bridge Loan ([link removed]) , and SBA Debt Relief ([link removed]) .
Stay At Home Resources and Activities

Online Learning Resources ([link removed]) : An extensive list of online learning resources broken down by age group
Denver Botanic Gardens ([link removed]) : Explore the plants, flowers, and gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens from the comfort of your home.
History Colorado Museum ([link removed]) : Check out the online exhibits available from the History Colorado Museum.
Denver Zoo ([link removed]) : Take a virtual zoo trip.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams ([link removed]) : Take a virtual trip to the aquarium.
Free Access to Scribd ([link removed]) : Scribd's library has millions of ebooks, audiobooks, magazine articles, and more. They are giving 30 days access to their library for free.
Snow Pack Levels
Anyone who would like to receive my newsletter can email me at:

[email protected]
[email protected]

Our office phone number at the Capitol building is 303-866-2916

As always, feel free to reach out to me with any comments or concerns.

www.ValdezforCO.com ([link removed])

============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** www.DonaldValdezforCO.com ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020, Representative Donald Valdez, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
200 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80203

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
Representative Donald Valdez . 1525 Sherman Street . Denver, Co 80238 . USA

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]