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PHOTOS: The Strange New Normal Inside The Colorado State Capitol

State representatives take the pledge of allegiance Tuesday as they resume their session during the coronavirus pandemic. Most lawmakers wore masks and sat in desks seperated by new plexiglass barriers.
Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
State representatives take the pledge of allegiance Tuesday as they resume their session during the coronavirus pandemic. Most lawmakers wore masks and sat in desks seperated by new plexiglass barriers.

The Colorado Capitol looked and sounded very different on Tuesday as state lawmakers returned for the first time in more than two months.

From difficulties hearing caused by legislators trying to talk through face masks to new plexiglass barriers placed between every desk in the House of Representatives, the legislature is adapting to new safety measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But the new one-way stairwells and other obstacles pale in comparison to the biggest challenge lawmakers face:

Passing a budget that includes a $3.3 billion shortfall caused by the impacts of the coronavirus.

When they gaveled in their new session, lawmakers could hear the sound of protestors in school buses and other vehicles honking as they drove around the building to oppose nearly $1 billion in proposed cuts to the state's education budget.

Lawmakers expect to be in the building for three weeks.

Here's what it looked like on day one:

Colorado State Patrol troopers talk inside the Capitol on Tuesday as lawmakers returned to the building. Several chairs are blocked with yellow caution tape to promote social distancing.
Credit Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
Colorado State Patrol troopers talk inside the Capitol on Tuesday as lawmakers returned to the building. Several chairs are blocked with yellow caution tape to promote social distancing.

Members of the public are required to wear masks inside the Capitol building.
Credit Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
Members of the public are required to wear masks inside the Capitol building.
New plexiglass barriers have also been installed to protect Capitol workers who help oversee committee meetings.
Credit Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
New plexiglass barriers have also been installed to protect Capitol workers who help oversee committee meetings.
Capitol workers put yellow caution tape around chairs that have been stored inside of a hearing room. The chairs are spaced out to promote social distancing.
Credit Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
Capitol workers put yellow caution tape around chairs that have been stored inside of a hearing room. The chairs are spaced out to promote social distancing.
The state senate resumes work on Tuesday, with some senators social distancing by working from benches that are usually reserved for guests.
Credit Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
The state senate resumes work on Tuesday, with some senators social distancing by working from benches that are usually reserved for guests.
Public tours of the Capitol are still cancelled. The public microwaves are also out of service during the pandemic.
Credit Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
Public tours of the Capitol are still cancelled. The public microwaves are also out of service during the pandemic.
The Capitol cafeteria is usually filled with lobbyists, lawmakers and other people taking tours when the legislature is in session. It is closed during the pandemic.
Credit Scott Franz/Capitol Coverage
The Capitol cafeteria is usually filled with lobbyists, lawmakers and other people taking tours when the legislature is in session. It is closed during the pandemic.

Copyright 2021 KUNC. To see more, visit KUNC.

Scott Franz is a government watchdog reporter and photographer from Steamboat Springs. He spent the last seven years covering politics and government for the Steamboat Pilot & Today, a daily newspaper in northwest Colorado. His reporting in Steamboat stopped a police station from being built in a city park, saved a historic barn from being destroyed and helped a small town pastor quickly find a kidney donor. His favorite workday in Steamboat was Tuesday, when he could spend many of his mornings skiing untracked powder and his evenings covering city council meetings. Scott received his journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is an outdoorsman who spends at least 20 nights a year in a tent. He spoke his first word, 'outside', as a toddler in Edmonds, Washington. Scott visits the Great Sand Dunes, his favorite Colorado backpacking destination, twice a year. Scott's reporting is part of Capitol Coverage, a collaborative public policy reporting project, providing news and analysis to communities across Colorado for more than a decade. Fifteen public radio stations participate in Capitol Coverage from throughout Colorado.
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