ST PAUL, Minn. — After more than a year, the clash over Governor Tim Walz's COVID-19 emergency powers continues in the Minnesota legislature.
State Republican leaders held a Wednesday press conference to announce a proposal for an "off-ramp" to ending Walz's emergency powers, saying the pandemic is no longer an emergency in Minnesota.
"You cannot say the emergency is not over - it's over," Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said in the conference.
In a release sent after the press conference, the lawmakers said the proposal would allow Walz to continue testing and vaccination efforts, but remove other powers and existing emergency orders.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Walz's office said the plan would leave serious gaps for the state's vaccination efforts, hunger relief and eviction moratorium.
"Governor Walz is committed to working with the Legislature and finding bipartisan solutions to improve the State’s response to emergencies," said Walz spokesperson Teddy Tschann. "Unfortunately, the proposal put forward by Minnesota Republicans is not a serious plan – 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 for renters or landlords as we come out of the pandemic."
A spokesperson for Walz's office pointed out that most states in the U.S. still have COVID-19 emergency powers in place, and said many emergency orders have already been rescinded.
The state's mask mandate -- an emergency order -- ended in mid-May, and Minnesota businesses no longer have capacity restrictions.
In the press conference, Gazelka said while most states have not gotten rid of COVID-19 emergency powers, "most" have reduced the scope of those powers.
Lawmakers will meet for a special session, planned for mid-June, to make an official budget decision and fend off a state shutdown. Emergency powers will be discussed as well.
