Executive Order 9L Extends All CT Executive Orders Until February 2021
On November 9, 2020, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 9L, which extends all executive orders, agency orders and municipal orders issued in connection with the current states of emergency related to COVID-19 until February 9, 2021. This is Governor Lamont’s 80th executive order since the civil preparedness and public health emergencies were declared on March 10, 2020, and which were most recently extended pursuant to the Governor’s declaration dated September 1, 2020. For those of you that appreciate statistics, this means that, on average, Governor Lamont has issued a new executive order once every three days since March 10, 2020.
E.O. 9L is an omnibus extension of existing, unexpired executive orders. There are exceptions, however: “[a]ny individual section of any such order that is scheduled to expire on any other specific date (i.e., other than February 9, 2021) shall remain in effect until such specific date, and any specific effective date or date for action in any such individual section shall remain valid.”
Some examples are provided:
“By way of illustration, and for the sake of clarity, Executive Order No. 9E has no specific duration because each individual section has specific dates for expiration or other action. The specific deadlines within such order, including the January 1, 2021 expiration of the eviction moratorium in Section 1 of that order and the February 9, 2021 expiration of the café liquor permits provided for in Section 2 of that order, shall remain unchanged and unaffected by this order.”
As a recap, here are some of the relevant E.O.’s and how they are treated pursuant to E.O. 9L:
- Executive Order Nos. 7X, 7DDD, and 7OOO, providing temporary relief for residential tenants, including but not limited to, prohibiting landlords from serving new notices to quit or summary process (eviction) complaints in connection with such leases, except in cases of serious nuisance (as defined under Sec. 47a-15);
- Executive Order No. 9H, which permits all municipal boards, committees, agencies, councils or local legislative bodies to operate their public meetings and/or hearings remotely, either in full or in part (i.e., a “hybrid” model)—in turn, allowing for more meaningful participation from the respective legislative body, as well as the general public;
- Executive Order No. 7Q, as amended by Executive Order No. 7ZZZ, allowing for the remote performance of all notarial acts required by state law through communication technology (i.e., an electronic device or process that enables communication with a remotely-located individual by sight and sound) and suspending all witness requirements for notarizations, except in the context of a last will and testament.[1]
Beyond extending the timeframe for prior orders, E.O. 9L further extends, until February 9, 2021, “[a]ny unexpired order, rule, regulation, directive or guidance issued by any official, agency, department, municipality, or entity pursuant to an unexpired COVID-19 Order, which by its own terms provides that it shall remain in place for the duration of the public health and civil preparedness emergency”, unless same is earlier modified or terminated by the issuing authority or a subsequent E.O. As in the case of E.O. 9A, this language is presented without qualification or clarification, and, again, assumedly captures everything from DPH guidance to DECD safe workplace rules.
Given the scope of its impact on existing executive orders, we assume that further guidance and/or clarification regarding E.O. 9L will be provided in coming weeks. For up to date alerts and analysis, clients should visit Pullman & Comley’s website frequently to view recent publications and specific advisories related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[1] In such situations, the witnessing requirement may be satisfied remotely, using the communication technology described above, if a Superior Court commissioner supervises its completion and certifies his or her supervision of such act.