Senator wants New Jersey lawmakers to curb Murphy’s emergency powers
(The Center Square) – A state senator wants New Jersey lawmakers to follow New York lawmakers’ lead and curb Gov. Phil Murphy’s emergency powers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday afternoon, New York lawmakers announced a deal to end Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s emergency powers. Cuomo’s powers have been in effect since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and were set to expire on April 30.
On March 9, 2020, Murphy issued Executive Order No. 103, declaring a state of emergency and a public health emergency in the Garden State. The order has been extended by executive order a dozen times, most recently on Feb. 17, according to a news release from state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, R-Montville.
“The Emergency Health Powers Act is designed as a temporary tool to ensure government can respond quickly and efficiently in a crisis environment,” Pennacchio said in a statement. “With repeated extensions of the declaration that give the governor inflated powers, Murphy has gone too far and abused the intent. It is time for New Jersey to return to governing as stipulated in the State Constitution. The role of the elected Legislature must be restored.”
Pennacchio is sponsoring a pair of measures, SCR-117 and S-2482, to limit the effective period of a governor’s emergency orders to 14 days. Senate Republicans say Democrats have thwarted their attempts to advance the bills.
“It is documented that New Jersey was following the leader, repeating too many of New York’s ill-conceived pandemic decisions, often with fatal consequences,” Pennacchio said. “In this instance, we should follow the leader one more time and at last do away with Murphy’s never ending emergency powers that give him free rein to make the rules and run the state without the consent of the Senate and Assembly.”
A spokesperson for Murphy did not immediately respond to a request from The Center Square for comment about the push.
Separately, Republican lawmakers are launching a series of hearings this week examining the state’s COVID response. They plan to investigate the Murphy administration’s policies at nursing homes, veterans homes, and long-term care (LTC) facilities in the state, where about 8,000 people have died.
The American Health Care Association did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Center Square about the investigation and what it hopes comes from the investigation.
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