Senate File 4 passed the Minnesota Senate today, March 15th, by a vote of 38-29. SF 4 would change the current process for extending a governor’s peacetime emergency powers in Minnesota. At this time, Governor Walz has lifted many restrictions on businesses while leaving executive orders relating to vaccine distribution, price gouging, eviction moratorium, and mask mandates in place. After voting no on the bill, Senate DFL Leader Susan Kent released the following statement:
“We are still in the midst of a global pandemic with good news coming every day. This is not the time to play partisan politics with Minnesotans’ lives. Senate Republicans have continued to say that they have not been included in these processes after numerous attempts by Governor Walz to work through this pandemic together. With no response or counteroffer by the Senate Republicans to the governor’s proposed path to ending his emergency authority, Governor Walz has continued to make these hard choices to protect Minnesotans and has effectively avoided worse outcomes,” said Leader Susan Kent (DFL- Woodbury). “Senate Republicans have said for the past 10 months that the emergency part of the pandemic is over. They were wrong then and they are wrong now, as we still need to remain vigilant during this public health crisis. As conditions improve and the governor continues to turn the dial and lift restrictions on businesses, some executive orders will remain important: a moratorium on evictions, a ban on price gouging, a mask mandate, and orders that ensure Minnesota continues to be among the nation’s leaders in vaccine distribution. If Senate Republicans oppose those specific policies, they should say so.”
“Governor Walz has public health experts and direct contact with federal and local officials to make decisions quickly. The governor has used his emergency powers judiciously and is not the only executive to use these powers. President Trump, President Biden, and nearly every governor in the country have used emergency executive authority over the past 12 months and 48 out of 50 states still have emergency powers in place. I am grateful for Governor Walz’s steady leadership throughout this pandemic.”
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