Senator Utke on Additional Coronavirus Funding and Executive Orders

4 years ago

Senator Utke on Additional Coronavirus Funding and Executive Orders

(St. Paul, MN) – Early Tuesday morning the Minnesota Senate passed additional emergency funding of $200 million for hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical professionals on the front lines to combat the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19. The Coronavirus COVID-19 continues to dominate every conversation at the Capitol. The most important thing we need to remember is that this is a virus similar to the flu virus. We need to take precautions just like we do with the flu, but extreme fear coming from our Governor and others around the United States needs to be throttled back.

Leaders of the Minnesota Legislature have announced that beginning Tuesday, March 17, the House and Senate will alter their operations and temporarily suspend all legislative business (committee hearings and Floor Sessions) in order to protect the public and limit the public spread of COVID-19.

This situation is unprecedented, but my office will remain open. I will continue to meet in person, by phone, or by email. Residents who have concerns or questions can direct them to my office at 651-296-9651 or sen.paul.utke@senate.mn.

As the COVID-19 virus unfolds in Minnesota, there are several resources that individuals can use to stay up to date on the latest information:

MDH’s COVID-19 page: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html
MDH’s COVID-19 prevention tips: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/prevention.html
MDH’s COVID-19 Situation Update: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html
Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 page: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963
CDC COVID-19 page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
CDC COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html

Governor Declared a Peacetime Emergency

Since Friday, March 13^th, Governor Walz has issued five Emergency Executive Orders (see links to the orders at the end of this newsletter). This is what his orders included:

March 13^th Executive Order 20-01 Declared a Peacetime Emergency.

March 15^th Executive Order 20-02 Ordered all public schools closed March 18^th through March 27^th.

March 16^th Executive Order 20-04 Ordered the closure of all Bars, Restaurants and Other Places of Public Accommodations.

The March 16^th Emergency Order is the most troubling, though I do not agree with the way the school closing was handled, either. COVID-19 is in a limited number of counties and our local school administrations could have monitored the virus and managed it at the local level.

Back to Executive Order 20-04. This order closes restaurants, food courts, cafes, coffeehouses, bars, taverns, brew pubs, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, clubs, hookah bars, cigar bars, theaters, cinemas, indoor and outdoor performance venues, museums, gymnasiums, fitness centers, exercise studious, spas, arcades bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, and more.

The penalty for flouting the order is up to a $1000 fine and up to 90 days in jail.

This order is now shutting down private businesses and sending employees home. The executive order claims that employees are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits starting their first day out of work, but on the surface that does not appear to be legal. Our businesses are being shut down with no consideration for lost income. This is extreme overreach by Governor Walz and definitely not acceptable.

Many private businesses were already taking initiatives to protect the health of their employees and their customers. They did not need Governor Walz locking their doors.

Unintended Consequences. One of the many emails that has come to the office this morning concerning the closing of the restaurants highlighted Truck Stops. Yes, pretty much everything we purchase at our local stores is delivered by a truck. Now the governor has closed the truck stop restaurants. 18-wheelers just don’t pull through a McDonalds drive-thru lane!

Executive orders that affect so many lives should be done with some level of communication with both bodies of the legislature. Unfortunately, that did not happen! The Governor did this on his own.

If you agree that this is an unacceptable government order, please make your opinions know to Governor Walz. The Governor’s contact information is as follows: