If not now, when?

This week, the Senate passed legislation with tri-partisan support that would reassert a fair balance of governing power between the legislative branch and the executive branch during future states of emergency. The bill would reign in any future Governor from asserting emergency powers without input from the Legislature. After a year of Walz renewing his emergency powers in 30-day intervals, Senate Republicans want to ensure Minnesotans are never held to one-man-rule again. This bill will require legislative approval to extend emergency powers beyond the original 30 days.

"For a full year now, Governor Walz has had unilateral power over the state of Minnesota," Senator Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake) said Monday, "and because of this misuse of "emergency" power, many in our state have struggled. Minnesotans elected members of the Senate, House, and the Governor; the legislature deserves to be included in big decisions that impact our district like this. In order to prevent this abuse of power from happening in the future with any Governor, it is important that the legislature passed this to fix the emergency powers and protect our republic form of government."

For the 8th time in a year, the Senate voted and passed a Resolution to end Governor Walz's emergency powers. Vaccination efforts have expanded rapidly, businesses have individualized plans for safely opening, and local communities have the authority to decide how to best mitigate COVID. The Legislature has responded timely when Minnesota needed emergency funding; the Senate has done its job with little guidance from Governor Walz.

"Minnesotans are not being well-served by the one-man-rule that Governor Walz has been holding over our heads for an entire year. From overlooking needs in nursing homes to wasting millions on a morgue that went unused, Governor Walz has overstepped every boundary the Minnesota Constitution has put in place to protect the people from authoritative rule," Westrom said.

"For the eighth time, we are asking Governor Walz to be transparent in when he will allow Minnesotans to be free. Some of my Democrat colleagues argued on the Senate Floor that Governor Walz should keep his emergency powers intact until this pandemic is officially over, however, others believe they can be removed only after a laundry list of controversially progressive policies are adopted. Either way, there is no real guidance under their one-sided rule."

Minnesota has been under peacetime emergency powers for just over a year now, although the circumstances and resources available to fight the COVID pandemic have dramatically improved since March 2020. Now, in order to rescind his emergency power, Governor Walz sent a letter to the Legislature demanding a laundry list of partisan demands be passed through the only split legislature in the nation.