SAINT PAUL, MN — Rep. Brian Pfarr, R-Le Sueur, and the legislature have ended the peacetime emergency for COVID-19 declared by Gov. Tim Walz nearly sixteen months ago. Early Wednesday morning the Minnesota House, on a motion made by House Republicans, adopted an amendment to the State Government Finance Bill that ended the emergency powers. The bill subsequently passed the House, and was approved by the Minnesota Senate. Under Chapter 12, peacetime emergencies are terminated following a majority vote by both bodies.
“At long last Gov. Walz’s emergency powers are over,” said Rep. Pfarr. “Now that the legislature’s constitutional role as a co-equal branch of government is once again restored, we must work to ensure this abuse of power is never repeated. Chapter 12, the area of statute that contains the emergency powers, needs to be reformed. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the months ahead to ensure that the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches is never challenged again.”