Alva Review-Courier -

The legislature convened at the Capitol on Monday to approve Gov. Stitt's declaration of a health emergency under the Catastrophic Emergency Powers Act, which was passed in 2003 in response to 9/11. This is the first time in our state's history this act has been used and approved. The governor now has additional powers to spend money and suspend rules and regulations to better coordinate COVID-19 response efforts across the state for the next 30 days.

We also passed three bills to address the now expected $416 million budget shortfall for 2020. The legislation authorizes withdrawals to fill th...