Walz at a Friday, June 25, news conference told the media his plan to end his peacetime emergency, first declared in March 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in Minnesota. Renewed monthly since last spring, Walz has used the executive powers to contain the pandemic's spread, as well as address the state's economic fallout over the past 15 months.
The emergency powers have proven to be a major point of contention between Walz's office and legislative Republicans, who say the governor has concentrated and abused his power, and that even with the pandemic ongoing, the state emergency ended long ago. Republicans say pandemic response should have been up to the Legislature, the state's lawmaking body.
Following Walz's announcement, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, said Aug. 1 isn't soon enough. He and other Republicans want to see the emergency over by July 1, and put forward a bill to do just that on the Senate floor Friday afternoon.
"Fifteen states have already done it," Gazelka told reporters after Walz's Friday announcement. "Where is the emergency? There is no emergency. People just want it to end. They want this chapter to end."
Gazelka's amendment launched the Senate into yet another prolonged debate over the emergency powers, extending into Friday afternoon. Sen. Nick Frentz, D-North Mankato, opposing the Republican bill, said, "When a hurricane causes an emergency, the emergency isn't over when the rain stops. The emergency is over when we're back to normal."
For months, Walz has argued he needed the executive powers to remain nimble and able to respond to the constantly evolving situation quickly. Minnesota is home to the country's sole divided Legislature, with Democrats controlling the House and Republicans controlling the Senate. For the Legislature to draft, debate and pass every single of the many orders Walz has issued would take far too long, he has said.
Additionally, maintaining an emergency status has opened the state up to additional federal dollars through various aid packages moved through Congress. Walz said Friday that this is part of the reason why he is maintaining the status up until August; there is a final round of SNAP benefits to help feed needy Minnesotans to collect.
Opposing the Republican bill to end the emergency, Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, D-Woodbury, said on the floor Friday that the state is "now down to some very basic nuts and bolts sort of things, and some important funding to the state of Minnesota."
"We should be able to work together for one additional month so that we can wind these down in a responsible, thoughtful way," she said.
Gazelka, meanwhile, pointed to the coronavirus aid Minnesota has already received from the federal government since March 2020: around $18 billion.
"Eventually, you've got to say, 'This is more than enough,'" Gazelka said.
Under Walz's month-long transition plan, the state on July 1 will begin winding down its testing and vaccination facilities. He said with vaccinations going up, caseloads going down and thousands of other testing and vaccine sites available, the state can start backing off and making long-term, non-emergency plans in case there is a case surge this fall.
"At this point in time, it's turning off the lights and sweeping the floor," Walz said Friday.
Gazelka on Friday said even after this emergency declaration officially ends, the Legislature needs to go a step further to reform the emergency declaration mechanism for future situations and governors.
"Nobody envisioned that governors could have these emergency powers this broad for over 15 months," he said. "Think about that power that one person has. We've got to reform that."
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to end COVID peacetime emergency, executive powers on Aug. 1 - Park Rapids Enterprise
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