ALL DEMS ARE HITLER AND MAO ON THE INSIDE - SERIOUSLY. IF NEWSOM COULD PUT PEOPLE IN CAMPS, IT WOULD HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT.
theepochtimes.com
California Lawmakers Reject Measure to End Newsom's Emergency Powers
Zachary Stieber
California lawmakers on March 15 voted down a measure that would have ended the emergency powers Gov. Gavin Newsom has been wielding for over two years.
Eight members of the California Senate Committee on Governmental Organization voted against the measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 5. Four members voted in favor.
The measure, if approved, would end the state of emergency Newsom, a Democrat, proclaimed on March 4, 2020. As a result, the powers the proclamation opened up would be terminated.
“An open-ended state of emergency, with boundless powers vested in a chief executive, is incompatible with democratic government,” the resolution states, adding that “It is critical that a proper balance be restored between the legislative and executive branches.”
“It’s time for the state to allow local governments to take the lead and address emergencies locally without the shotgun approach of a statewide emergency,” state Sen. Melissa Melendez, a Republican who introduced the measure, told colleagues before the vote, citing the sharp drop in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Melendez and three fellow GOP senators voted in favor of the resolution; the eight no votes all came from Democrats.
State Sen. Benjamin Allen, a Democrat who ended up abstaining, said there was “so much that’s compelling about this bill” but told colleagues that “he one problem here is that declaring the emergency over would hinder our ability to do a lot that involves fighting this pandemic.”
State Sen. Bill Dodd, a Democrat who voted against the bill, said he was happy to see the drop in COVID-19 metrics but “the existing state of emergency proclaimed by the governor is absolutely important to ensure that the state can quickly and efficiently continue to respond to the COVID 19 pandemic and be prepared for possible future variants and surges.”
Dodd noted that of the 63 provisions relating to the state of emergency, Newsom has scheduled 18 to end at the end of March and another 15 at the end of June.
The other provisions are “important for maintaining government flexibility,” he asserted.
The office of Newsom, who survived a recall vote in 2021, did not return a request for comment.
Melendez wrote on Twitter after the vote that Democrats in the state legislature are “content to abdicate their responsibilities to the governor.”
“The state of emergency will continue, as will the governor’s power to close schools and shut down businesses,” she said. |
