On Thursday, the Senate voted to terminate the Governor’s peacetime emergency powers for the eighth time since he enacted his powers last March. As it stands, the Governor can renew these powers every 30 days without legislative approval. The legislature can only terminate the powers with a majority vote from both the Senate and House. With a Democrat-controlled House, the attempts have so far been unsuccessful.

“This was my first time voting to terminate Governor Walz’s emergency powers, and I am glad to make it known that I stand against this unilateral authority,” Senator Gene Dornink (R-Hayfield) said Thursday. “Minnesota has been under his rule for too long and the benefits are far less than the negative impacts. We have three bodies of the Legislature and it would benefit the entire state to use all of them, not just the Executive branch.”

Vaccination efforts are improving at a fast pace, businesses are reopening, and we’ve given local communities power over how to proceed. The Legislature has passed bills to provide resources to areas of Minnesota that have struggled over the past year, proving that issues can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.