The Governor called the Senate back to the Capitol today for a second special session. In response, Senate Republicans presented a resolution intended to eliminate the Governor’s peacetime emergency powers initially enacted to prepare the state for the COVID-19 pandemic. If the House agrees, it would put an end to the state’s longest peacetime emergency in history. Walz first put the state under emergency powers on March 13, 2020.

“The need for the Governor’s moment-by-moment response to combat the pandemic has passed,” said Senator Scott Jensen (R-Chaska). “Collectively, we have learned a lot. It makes sense now to share the responsibility of the calculated risks we will take moving forward. We need to value additional input – it will help us make better decisions as we strive to fairly represent each of our constituents.”

The vote to end the peacetime emergency was 36-31, with one Democrat joining Republicans in support of the resolution.