Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Committee advances competing 'emergency powers' proposals after hours of testimony; one bill sent to General Register
Summary
Lawmakers and public witnesses debated two competing measures to restrict the governor's peacetime emergency powers. Chair Robbins' bill (HF21) passed out of committee by roll call to the General Register; a more expansive 'Never Again' bill (HF26) and several amendments drew heated testimony and were set for further consideration after recess.
Two competing measures to change Minnesota's peacetime emergency law dominated testimony and debate at the State Government Finance and Policy Committee on Feb. 13.
House File 21, authored by Chair Robbins, would shorten the governor's unilateral emergency authority to 14 days and require a three-fifths legislative vote in both chambers to extend an emergency beyond that period. Robbins said the change would return balance to the separation of powers after the pandemic-era reliance on long emergency declarations. After more than two hours of testimony from business owners, industry representatives and private citizens, the committee voted by roll call to refer HF21 to the General Register (roll-call result recorded as 7 ayes, 6 nays in committee).
Supporters of HF21 included…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
