6 Governors Stripped Of Power Because Of Overreach During The COVID-19 Pandemic

• Lawmakers in 46 states have moved to limit governors’ emergency powers wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing executives have overextended their authority.
• Pennsylvania voters in May approved two amendments to the state’s constitution proposed by Republican lawmakers that sought to limit the executive power of Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf, while Republican lawmakers in Michigan voted in July to repeal the Emergency Powers Act of 1945, a law used by Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to issue widespread restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic without consulting the legislature.
• The power struggles between legislatures and governors are not necessarily partisan, with the overwhelmingly-Democrat legislature in New York voting to limit Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s emergency powers in a bill passed in March.

State legislatures in six states limited their governors’ emergency powers wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing executives have overextended their authority.

As of June 2021, lawmakers in 46 states have introduced legislation stripping governors of certain emergency powers, according to USA Today. Legislatures justified their actions as necessary to restore a balance between the branches of state government, pointing to examples of executive overreach and the centralization of power in the hands of governors.

While in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Michigan Republican lawmakers have curtailed the emergency powers of Democrat governors, the cases of legislatures limiting executive authority in New York, Ohio, and Idaho demonstrate that power struggles between lawmakers and governors are not necessarily partisan.

Kentucky

The Republican-dominated Kentucky legislature in February overrode Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear’s vetoes on three bills designed to limit his executive power. One bill prevented the closure of schools, businesses, and churches during the pandemic so long as they met certain requirements, while another limited Beshear’s executive orders that restrict the function of schools and businesses to no longer than 30 days, with extensions granted by the legislature. (RELATED: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Mandates Wearing Masks Amid Rise In Coronavirus Cases)

The legislature also granted itself the power to cancel any of Beshear’s emergency orders, and automatically limited all emergency restrictions affecting businesses, schools, churches, and local governments. Though the bills were enacted, Beshear filed a lawsuit challenging their constitutionality, which is currently ongoing.

Republicans in the state legislature had been highly critical of Beshear’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing the governor had not properly consulted with lawmakers when enacting emergency restrictions, and that power was too centralized in his hands.

“While we take this virus seriously, we will not be cover for his unilateral decision-making,” Republican state Rep. David Osborne said, according to LEX 18.

Republican state Sen. Matt Castlen, a sponsor of one of the bills, cited the need to have the state legislature’s input when enacting emergency restrictions.

“We gladly look forward to having a seat at the table representing all corners of Kentucky in the decisions going forward,” Castlen said in a press release.

Pennsylvania voters in May approved two amendments to the state’s constitution proposed by Republican lawmakers that sought to limit the executive power of Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf. The amendments permit the legislature to cancel a governor’s emergency declaration with a simple majority vote rather than the previous two-thirds vote, and force the governor to renew emergency declarations through the legislature every 21 days.

Wolf’s restrictive lockdown orders, especially some of the more unusual policies such as a ban on alcohol sales over the Thanksgiving holiday, were criticized by citizens, business owners and lawmakers alike. He was also the subject of scrutiny from the Department of Justice (DOJ) over his handling of the pandemic after he ordered nursing homes to accept new residents who had contracted COVID-19, though the DOJ declined to investigate in July.

Republicans in the state legislature cited executive overreach in Wolf’s handling of the pandemic as the reason for the amendments.