Senator Weber supports legislation requiring legislative oversight for future peacetime emergencies

On Tuesday, the Senate’s State Government Finance & Policy Committee heard legislation that would reassert a fair balance of governing power between the legislative branch and the executive branch during future states of emergency. The bill would require the governor to obtain legislative approval to extend any emergency declaration beyond 30 days.

This differs from current law, which allows the governor 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 House and Senate.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, it was important that Governor Walz had executive leeway to navigate a situation that nobody knew much about,” said Senator Bill Weber (R-Luverne). “But now Minnesota is coming up on a year of emergency powers. We’ve flattened the curve in that span and ensured our health care facilities have not been overwhelmed. Yet, even with those benchmarks met, the governor refuses to relinquish his emergency authority and work with the legislature.”

 “Minnesotans do not want one person to hold an iron grip over the state,” continued Sen. Weber. “They expect us to work together. This legislation moves Minnesota in the right direction and encourages us all to engage in developing bipartisan solutions that meet the unique demands of each corner of the state.”

Senate Republicans introduced the same legislation last session where it passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 36-31.

Governor Walz has offered to end his emergency powers, but only if legislators agree first to pass a list of his demands.


Other provisions included in the legislation:

  • The bill requires the governor to give three days’ notice to the majority and minority leaders of each body if they intend to extend a peacetime emergency when the legislature is not in session.
  • The bill prohibits the governor from canceling an emergency order and issuing a new declaration for the same emergency in order to avoid approval by the legislature.
  • The bill clarifies 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.