Hello from St. Paul,
Remember how Governor Walz’s emergency powers during the COVID pandemic devastated our ability to live our lives?
This week, the State Government Finance Committee heard my legislation that would shift the authority to declare an emergency from the executive to the legislative branch. It now heads to the Veterans and Military Affairs Division for further review.
Much has been made at the federal level these days about an alleged “power grab,” but Minnesotans understand that a true power grab was made successfully by Governor Walz at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was handed emergency powers and was basically allowed to run the state as he saw fit for 16 months.
During that time, he prevented people from going to church, working out at a gym, attending family holiday gatherings, even saying goodbye in person to dying loved ones, all under the guise of “slowing the spread of COVID-19.” Business owners were devastated, as Governor Walz handpicked which businesses could remain open and which must be shuttered, “in order to slow the spread of COVID,” and because of this far too many of them closed for good.
Five years later, almost all of us shake our heads in disbelief that not only did we comply with this nonsense, but that we willingly allowed it to happen in the first place. We will tell our grandkids someday that our governor thought it was perfectly fine to shop at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store, but at the same time you couldn’t go out to eat at the bar/restaurant on Main Street, because the governor thought keeping it closed would “slow the spread of COVID.”
In hindsight, it is crazy, over-reactive thinking. Yet it happened because emergency powers were given to the governor, and once Governor Walz became the sole ruler of the state for well over a year, he refused to give up that power. Dictators seldom do.
To that, I and many others say, “never again.”
My legislation would prevent any governor from unilaterally declaring an emergency and require 2/3 of the legislature to extend emergency powers to the governor. It would enact a Citizens Bill of Rights to protect your freedoms if emergency powers are granted again, and would prevent a governor’s executive orders from being treated as laws. Finally, if a governor abuses emergency powers, he or she could be fined or imprisoned for violating the law.
I have received hundreds of emails in support of this legislation. Far too many lost their livelihoods due to Governor Walz’s power grab five years ago. Some still haven’t recovered.
Never again.
DEMOCRAT SHUTDOWN HAS ENDED
As you may have heard, Minnesota House Democrats have finally returned to work and ended their shutdown. An agreement reached between Republican and Democrat leadership allows Republican Lisa Demuth to serve as Speaker of the House for both the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions. Republicans will also hold a minimum of a one seat advantage on all House committees, at least until the results of a special election for an open House seat near Roseville are tallied. This will allow Republican bills and priorities to move forward without roadblocks in the Minnesota House for at least five weeks.
I supported Rep. Demuth for House Speaker but I voted against a rules proposal that was part of this agreement because I am committed to election integrity.
Along those lines, I was also named this week as a member of the Minnesota House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee. I am very pleased with this assignment, as it will allow me to pursue legislation that preserves the integrity of our elections system and question those who stand in the way of achieving this goal.
In liberty,
Drew