Senator Dahms, Senate Passes Bill To Reform Governor’s Emergency Powers

St. Paul, MN – On Monday, the Senate passed, on a tri-partisan vote of 38-29, legislation to reassert a fair balance of governing power between the legislative branch and the executive branch during future states of emergency. The bill requires the executive branch to obtain legislative approval to extend any emergency declaration beyond 30 days.

Senate File 4 differs from current law, which allows the executive branch to extend a peacetime emergency indefinitely for 30 days at a time and only grants the legislature the option to cancel emergency powers with a majority vote of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.  

“One person should not make all the decisions,” said Senator Gary Dahms (R ‒ Redwood Falls). “This bill helps restore the proper balance between the legislative and executive branches. Minnesotans want us and expect us to work together: 201 legislators working in conjunction with the governor is far more effective than one-man rule.”

Minnesota is not alone in the effort to review and change emergency powers. According to the National Council on State Legislatures, 40 states are considering measures to limit executive authority and power. This same change in Minnesota was proposed at the end of the 2020 legislative session and passed the Senate with bipartisan support. The House failed to vote on the measure. 

Other provisions in the legislation include:

  • Requiring the governor to give three days’ notice to the majority and minority leaders of each body if he or she intends to extend a peacetime emergency when the legislature is not in session.
  • Prohibiting the governor from canceling an emergency order and issuing a new declaration for the same emergency to avoid approval by the legislature.
  • Clarifying that if the governor declares two peacetime emergencies concurrently, the same legislative approval of any extension past 30 days is required for the second emergency.

Senator Dahms is in his fourth term representing Senate District 16 which includes communities in Brown, Lac qui Parle, Lyon, Redwood, Renville, and Yellow Medicine counties. He also serves as chair of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy Committee and Vice Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Finance and Policy Committee.