On Monday, the Senate passed legislation on a tri-partisan vote of 38-29, that would reassert a fair balance of governing power between the legislative branch and the executive branch during future states of emergency. The bill would require the Governor to obtain legislative approval to extend any emergency declaration beyond 30 days. The governor has access to many emergency departments for vaccinations, like public health for example, without using emergency powers. 

Current law allows the Governor to extend a peacetime emergency indefinitely for 30 days at a time and only grants the legislature the option to cancel emergency powers with a majority vote of both the House and Senate.  40 other states are looking at modifications of emergency powers after the excessive use nationwide, but when Senate Republicans ask for a timeline of when the emergency powers will end, Senate Democrats have failed to answer. 

“Over the past year, Governor Walz has used his emergency powers to exclude the Legislature when it comes to making important decisions that have impacted each Minnesotan,” Senator Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) said Monday. “It is truly disappointing that regardless of what the Senate and legislature has done, the Governor has chosen to keep emergency powers to himself. Minnesotans deserve better.

“Our state has been under peacetime emergency powers for just over a year now. The Governor has offered to end his emergency powers, but only if legislators agreed to pass a laundry list of partisan demands first. That is not working together. Walz chose to start emergency powers, and it is his job to make proposals to end this unilateral decision-making. Unless, that is, he finds it too pleasant and just wants to continue with his one-man rule.”

Other provisions included in the legislation:

• The bill requires the Governor to give three days’ notice to the majority and minority leaders of each body if the governor intends to extend a peacetime emergency when the legislature is not in session.
• The bill prohibits the Governor from canceling an emergency order and issuing a new declaration for the same emergency in order to avoid approval by the legislature.
• The bill clarifies that if the Governor declares two peacetime emergencies concurrently, the same legislative approval of any extension past 30 days is required for the second emergency.