On Friday, the Minnesota Senate voted for a fourth time 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.

“Although we don’t have the support we need from the House of Representatives to enact this resolution and restore the legislative process, we still take this vote on behalf of all of our constituents who repeatedly ask for the Governor’s powers to end,” said Senator Jerry Relph (R-St. Cloud). “We remain committed to listening to the voices of the people of Minnesota who are ready to once again engage with their local elected leaders for guidance through the fight against COVID-19.”

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.