Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, governors and mayors have been governing unilaterally under the guise of emergency powers. State legislatures and courts have failed to reassert their constitutional roles as co-equal branches of government.
It’s time for legislators and judges to end indefinite one-person rule.
Most states give their governors extraordinary powers in an emergency to protect the public’s health and safety when there is no time for legislative action. These emergency powers may be crucial in uncertain times, including pandemics, but their use must be time-limited and respectful of constitutional rights.
Unlimited, dictatorial rule cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.
PLF is working with legislatures and in courtrooms across the country to place safeguards on emergency powers and restore constitutional government.
PLF’s model bill, the Emergency Power Limitation Act, provides for three main limits on the use of emergency powers. 1) Emergency orders will expire after a short period of time unless the state legislature extends them, 2) Emergency orders must be narrowly tailored to protect the public’s health and safety, rather than arbitrary and logically inconsistent, 3) Courts must provide expedited review of disputed orders that restrict constitutional rights.
316 million Americans across 42 states lived under stay-at-home orders in response to COVID-19. Unemployment has skyrocketed because of business closures, with unemployment highest in states with more severe shutdown orders. Travel is restricted. Nearly every aspect of life has changed.
Although emergencies may require swift, initial responses from an executive official, time allows legislators to fulfill their constitutional duty as the people’s representatives who make law, and for courts to constrain the worst abuses of power.
The separation of powers framework in our state and federal constitutions is the most important protection of individual liberty. Constitutional checks and balances should not be tossed aside, even in an emergency.
Principled reforms that reinforce separation of powers should include requirements that emergency orders:
Read more on PLF’s Recommendations for Principled Reform
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic almost a year ago, governors and mayors have been governing unilaterally under the guise of emergency powers, and state legislatures and courts have delayed too long in reasserting their constitutional roles.
Pacific Legal Foundation Joe Luppino-Esposito on pushing back against Thanksgiving mandates through his op-ed published by The Hill.
Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any stranger, it’s likely that your governor has invited himself or herself to your Thanksgiving dinner.
Joe Luppino-Esposito lives in Virginia and is a lawyer at Pacific Legal Foundation, which litigates nationwide on individual liberty.
Reasonable minds may disagree on how to respond to COVID-19, but we can all agree that states should be enabled to protect public health and safety during an emergency.
Utah is consistently rated as one of the freest states in the nation. But even in the Beehive State, the government response to COVID-19 has been a harsh reminder how quickly that can change if there are no limits on the executive. Over the past year the governor and local officials ordered businesses to close ...
Although Governor Andrew Cuomo's intentionally false reporting on COVID deaths in nursing homes last year is shameful by itself, it also highlights a larger problem with emergency orders issued by governors alone without other checks. While there are now over a dozen New York State senators who want to limit the governor's emergency power, the ...
"So this is how liberty dies? With thunderous applause." These were the parting words of Senator Padmé Amidala to the Galactic Senate in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, as she observed her colleagues gleefully cheering on the dissolution of the Republic on its 1,000th year, only to be reborn as the Empire. ...
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March, state governors have imposed restrictions that would have been unthinkable at this time last year. These drastic actions have left many wondering about the limits of government officials' power—and whether that power changes during times like these. The simple answer is that—there's no simple a ...
This Halloween will be particularly spooky for small business owners across California, thanks to Governor Gavin Newsom's ongoing shutdown of businesses statewide in response to the pandemic. Indeed, many of these small businesses may not live to see another All Hallows Eve. For example, take Ghost Golf, an indoor miniature golf and family entertai ...
Help us end the practice of unilateral governance under the guise of emergency powers.
The fight to protect liberty and justice never ends. Since 1973, donor-supported PLF has successfully litigated to enforce the Constitution’s guarantee of individual liberty, with an unmatched track record at the U.S. Supreme Court. Your support empowers countless Americans to fight back and win, at the same time you safeguard the liberties of everyone.
Contact Plf Donate
