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.

“We have flattened the curve and prepared our healthcare systems for projected surges and it is time for Governor Walz’s peacetime emergency powers to end,” said Senator Andrew Lang (R-Olivia). “Today’s vote aims to restore the voices of our constituents as they work to rebuild their communities.”

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