California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom could see his emergency powers revoked after a Republican assemblyman issued a bill Wednesday demanding changes to the governor’s emergency authority as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge.
The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, calls for the immediate limitation in the governor’s ability to enact or change laws under the California Emergency Services Act (CESA) to 60 days after an emergency order has been called.
Cunningham’s bill follows nearly 290 days of California being under a “State of Emergency” amid the coronavirus pandemic and the latest round of state-enforced shutdowns, as cases spiked in the Golden State.
“For 287 days, [Newsom] has been unilaterally changing laws and regulations with zero input from the Legislature,” Cunningham said on Twitter. “It’s time to restore California to a constitutional democracy, and ensure that a governor no longer has indefinite, unilateral power.”
The changes would require the governor to seek approval from California legislators before making any changes to law or regulations.
Neither Cunningham nor Newsom could not be immediately reached for comment on the bill.
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California has seen coronavirus cases dramatically spiking in recent weeks, well outstripping their highest daily case load from the first spike in the spring.
Over 52,000 new cases were confirmed Thursday, contributing to the state’s more than 1.7 million cases of coronavirus. Another 379 new deaths were reported by the state’s Department of Public Health, pushing California nearer to 22,000 COVID related deaths this year.
Newsom hit a snag last month when a northern California judge decided the governor overstepped his authority in one of the dozens of executive orders issued during the state’s pandemic, and found “an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power,” reported KTVU.
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Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman found an order issued by Newsom in June surpassed his authority when he called for hundreds of voting stations to be established statewide, and barred him from issuing orders under CESA which “amends, alters, or changes existing statutory law or makes new statutory law or legislative policy.”
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