Minnesota Republicans are looking to Alaska for what's next in the debate over emergency powers, which governors have tapped to respond to the pandemic.
Minnesota Republicans still pushing to end Walz's emergency powers
Legislators crafted a proposal last week based on Alaska's off-ramp for the pandemic state of emergency.
June 5, 2021 at 6:10PM
GOP legislators crafted a proposal last week based on Alaska's off-ramp for the pandemic state of emergency, allowing Gov. Tim Walz to tap federal aid while rolling out COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs. But the bill would otherwise terminate the state of emergency that has been ongoing for 15 months.
"From vaccination rates to falling cases and hospitalizations, the emergency is over and it is time for the governor to acknowledge that fact," said Rep. Barb Haley, R-Red Wing.
It's the latest in a long push from Republicans to end the emergency, including 19 votes and more than a half-dozen bills to curb certain aspects of the governor's powers.
But the debate was over before it started. In the same news conference where they announced their proposal, Republicans said the DFL governor had already rejected the idea.
"It would slow down vaccination, jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in hunger relief and end the eviction moratorium overnight with no plan to provide an off-ramp," Walz spokesman Teddy Tschann said in a statement.
Forty-four states are still in a state of emergency. Walz is expected to extend those powers again on June 14.
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