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The Legislature Strikes Back

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18min 39sec
2020 Legislature Face Mask Plastic Shield
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Areas of the statehouse normally filled with lobbyists, lawmakers, staff and other visitors were off limits as the Colorado General Assembly came back to session May 26, 2020, with coronavirus face mask and social distance rules in place.

On Tuesday, lawmakers in masks filed past health screeners armed with thermometers to begin their work between tall shields of clear Plexiglas, or at desks separated by empty seats. And what work they have to do. From rapidly killing off most of the bills left over from the first half of the session, to a very personal debate over whether to allow some of their colleagues to work remotely, work has started with a bang. Hosts Bente Birkeland and Andrew Kenney talk with the Denver Post's Alex Burness about the whole saga.

NOTE: This episode was recorded Thursday morning, May 28, before the protests over the death of George Floyd, and the subsequent decision by legislative leaders to suspend work on Friday.