Following the Connecticut General Assembly”™s approval of Gov. Ned Lamont”™s request to extend his emergency powers through Feb. 15, 2022, the governor has signed an executive order authorizing nine previously issued executive orders to remain in effect through the duration of the renewed declarations, and revising and narrowing two previously issued executive orders.
The governor said that Executive Order No. 14 is necessary so that certain previously issued orders can continue beyond Sept. 30, when the powers were set to expire.
“I believe Connecticut has been smart in our response and we”™ve been taking the right steps to help mitigate the spread of this virus to the best of our abilities,” Lamont said. “That”™s why we”™ve gotten to a place where we currently have among the best results in the nation, and I”™m just asking people to be cautious just a little bit longer until we can get this behind us.”
Executive Order No. 14 takes the following actions:
Extends the duration of nine previously issued executive orders through Feb. 15, 2022. These include:
- Executive Order No. 7P, Section 1, which concerns the authority to provide non-congregate housing to at-risk populations when housing them in group shelters or other communal settings would put them at greater risk of contracting or spreading Covid-19. It is important to note that despite claims by some commenters to the contrary, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has explicitly told Connecticut that reimbursement of about $2 million per quarter will not continue without such an order remaining in effect.
- Executive Order No. 9, Section 1, and Executive Order No. 13A, which provide the authority to require masks in schools, childcare facilities, and certain higher-risk settings, as well as providing municipal authority to require universal masking in certain settings.
- Executive Order No. 9Q, Section 3, and Executive Order No. 13C, which support the state”™s comprehensive and nation-leading vaccination campaign by ensuring coordinating funding and reimbursement for vaccinations and allowing the Department of Public Health to share vaccination information with healthcare providers and local health districts.
- Executive Order No. 12D, which continues the requirement that before initiating the summary process for eviction, landlords file an application with UniteCT, the state”™s nation-leading program to provide fiscal assistance to landlords and renters to prevent evictions that could lead to homelessness and the resulting increased risk of contracting and transmitting Covid-19.
- Executive Order No. 13E, which implements a streamlined training program for temporary nurse aides.
- Executive Order No. 13F and Executive Order No. 13G, which require long-term care facility workers, state hospital workers, state employees, pre-K through 12 school workers, and the staff of childcare facilities to get vaccinated, with test-out options for those not working in long-term care facilities and hospitals.
The order also:
- Extends agency or municipal orders that were issued pursuant to any unexpired Covid-19 order.
- Repeals Executive Order No. 11D, Sections 2 and 3, which concern the emergency procurement of essential goods and services, and renews them with a revised version that restores nearly all statutory contracting procedures and requirements except that, to provide for flexible process for goods and services essential to the Covid-19 response, keeps in place emergency authority for agency heads to use expedited non-competitive procurement processes. The revised order continues to require the department head or agency head to certify in writing that such expedited procurement is necessary to respond to the pandemic.
