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DENVER (KDVR) — Gov. Jared Polis has declared a state of emergency over COVID-19 concerns.
On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began referring to the outbreak as a pandemic.
Now, a question is: how much power does Polis have? In short, he has a lot.
A recent document prepared by Colorado’s non-partisan Office of Legislative Legal Services details Polis’ wide-ranging powers.
Polis’ powers include but are not limited to:
- Using the Colorado National Guard to carry out orders
- Direct an evacuation of any area
- Commandeer any private property
- Suspend selling of alcoholic beverages, firearms and explosives
- Unilaterally order the buying or taking of medicines and vaccines
- Order physicians and hospitals to take or stop taking patients
- Issue a quarantine of a person or property
- Destroy objects that threaten public health
- Determine how to safely dispose of corpses
- Provide up to $5,000 to impacted families
- Change how state business is conducted
- Relocate the seat of government
