On Wednesday, the Minnesota Senate voted on a bipartisan resolution to end Governor Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency powers relative to the COVID-19 pandemic. The vote aims to end the state’s longest peacetime emergency in history, which began when Gov. Walz first put the state under emergency powers back on March 13, 2020.

“Today’s vote is not about Covid. My vote is about the bigger issue of the proper role of the Governor in a representational democracy,” said Senator Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks). “The structure our founding fathers laid out in both our national and state constitutions is more than adequate to handle the pandemic. Working with the legislature should not be viewed as a hazard to be avoided. We represent the interests, hopes, and needs of our communities which have not been heard in a meaningful way for over five months. This should be a huge concern to Minnesotans.”

The vote to end the peacetime emergency was passed with bipartisan support. The resolution now heads to the House, where it requires majority support before it can be adopted.