![lawmakersreturn Lawmakers packed into the House floor with clear dividers between desks for the restart of the legislative session on May 26, 2020. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)](https://i0.wp.com/www.coloradoindependent.com/wp-content/uploads/lawmakersreturn.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)
The hallways were mostly empty. The lawmakers were mostly masked. The interactions were mostly awkward.
The General Assembly’s return to the state Capitol after a two-month coronavirus pause looked anything but normal. Members of the House sat at desks divided by plexiglass or in the gallery above the chamber shouting down their votes on legislation. In the Senate, some legislators were forced to balance computers on their laps as they worked in areas of the chamber’s floor typically designated for seating visitors.
“It’s an 11 on the weird scale,” said Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat.
The differences began from the moment visitors entered the gold-domed building, in part because of a last-minute decision by Democratic leaders to put in place mandatory public health protocols.
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