The Minnesota Senate approved a bill that would reassert a fair balance of governing power between the legislative branch and the executive branch during future states of emergency.

This bill would continue to allow by law for the governor to declare peacetime emergency powers for the first 5 days and with a majority vote of the Executive Council declare an additional 25 days.

Under this bill, after those initial 30 days, the governor would need to obtain legislative approval by majority of both the house and senate to extend any emergency declaration.

Currently, the Governor can extend a peacetime emergency indefinitely and without limit 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. Emergency peacetime powers were never contemplated to be unlimited as a dictatorship could ensue. That is not our form of government.

The structure of our government was designed to reflect the will of the people and to have checks and balances amongst the three branches of government.  Current law gives too much power to the governor. This bill restores the balance.

We have worked with the Governor throughout this peacetime emergency to prepare for the projected surge and now that Minnesotans have accomplished readiness, it is time to return to the normal governance. We are now in a state of urgent and important, but no longer in a state of emergency. Other provisions:

• This 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.

• This 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.

• This 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.