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LAWSUIT AGAINST WALZ HEARD IN MINNESOTA COURT OF APPEALS

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

St. Paul – Today the Minnesota Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the lawsuit brought against Governor Walz by members of the legislature and the Free Minnesota Coalition. This lawsuit challenges Governor Walz's authority to declare a peacetime emergency and unilaterally write law. The appellate court will rule in the coming weeks.

The New House Republican Caucus issued the following statement:

“We are disappointed by many of the statements made in today’s case. Judge Larkin proposed that Governor Walz should be given the authority to veto the legislature’s decision to terminate his peacetime emergency powers. This would make it impossible to ever end a Governor’s peacetime emergency in the future. The judges also raised questions about whether the plaintiffs had standing as individual legislators rather than the body as a whole, and whether the claim had to wait until after both bodies of the legislature had agreed to end the peacetime emergency.

We have endured one-man rule for too long, which has resulted in innumerable hardships and losses for Minnesotans; however, we remain hopeful that we will see a restoration of freedom for the people of Minnesota. No governor should be able to unilaterally write law for an indefinite period of time. This is a gross abuse of power, and it needs to be corrected by the courts.”

Rep. Steve Drazkowski (Republican-Mazeppa), Rep. Tim Miller (Republican-Prinsburg), Rep. Cal Bahr (Republican-East Bethel), Rep. Jeremy Munson (Republican-Lake Crystal), and Rep. Erik Mortensen (Republican-Shakopee) are members of the New House Republican Caucus.

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