Hello from the State Capitol,
Minnesota is set to mark the one-year anniversary of living under Governor Walz’s emergency powers, executive orders, and unilateral decision making, and it’s a troublesome milestone.
House Republicans have tried repeatedly to end the powers, but the Democratic majority continues to vote the motions down. The Legislature literally has no say in this pandemic process, and too many local business owners are suffering because of it.
The Governor’s Office recently announced that nearly 70% of senior citizens in Minnesota – the group most at risk from COVID-19 – have been vaccinated, which means vaccination eligibility has now expanded in the state and is another big step towards herd immunity.
Despite this very positive development, Governor Walz has no desire to give up the emergency powers granted to him by the Legislature one year ago. The Governor continues to insist that we are still in the “emergency” phase of our response to the pandemic, even though variants of COVID-19 have been circulating in Minnesota for more than six weeks and cases continue to plummet.
House Republicans voted 3 times this week – for a total of 15 times overall – to end the governor’s emergency powers. House Democrats who previously voted to end the powers prior to last November’s election have now flip-flopped, continuing to enable the Governor's unilateral authority and refusing to restore the legislature as a Constitutional co-equal branch of government.
Meanwhile, those who own or work in restaurants, movie theaters, bars, event centers, salons, and entertainment venues continue to operate with significant restrictions, while churches remain at 50% capacity.
Common sense will tell you that with thousands of Minnesotans receiving vaccinations every day, and the number of COVID cases declining, we no longer are in a state of emergency and the governor’s one person rule must end.
Talk to you soon,
Bob