Committee advances competing 'emergency powers' proposals after hours of testimony; one bill sent to General Register

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 hospitality and restaurant industry leaders who described prolonged closures and shifting mandates during COVID-19 that they said inflicted lasting economic harm. Angie Whitcomb, president and CEO of Hospitality Minnesota, and restaurant owners Ray Harrington and Troy Redding told the committee that statewide mandates lacked local nuance, costing jobs and businesses. Salon renter Rachel Gowdy and others described personal and financial harms during pandemic restrictions.

Opponents and questioners, including some committee members, cautioned that an overly rigid limit on executive power could hinder rapid response to fast-moving crises. Lawmakers queried whether a 14-day automatic expiration — with the governor forced to seek a legislative supermajority to extend — could produce disruptive reopen/close cycles that would be difficult for businesses and emergency responders to manage. Rep. Bonner, Rep. Cleburne and others expressed concern that the legislature’s deliberative pace could hamper timely responses to public-safety incidents.

House File 26, introduced by Rep. Roach and described by its author as a “Never Again Act,” would make broader changes, including criminal penalties for governors who exceed their authority, and language clarifying that executive orders are not law. The committee considered and acted on a series of amendments to HF26: Representative Bonner’s A1 (adding back additional civil liberties language) was adopted; Representative Freiburg’s A2 (adding CDC and HHS to a list of agencies whose data could trigger legislative emergency declarations) failed on a committee roll call; Representative Howard’s A3 (narrowing removal of executive-order effective-date language) was also rejected on a roll call. Testimony on HF26 included multiple speakers who said executive emergency orders during the pandemic had caused personal hardship; one witness, Nicole Riggs of COVID Justice Minnesota, recounted a family member’s hospitalization and said family members were blocked from bedside access during treatment.

Committee leadership recessed the hearing until 8 p.m. with HF26 still in committee; amendments had been disposed of and the bill’s referral was to the Committee on Health. Several members said they plan to continue negotiating statutory language as the proposals move through additional committee stops.