Lawmakers agree Lamont’s emergency powers should continue

By The Associated Press | March 31, 2021 | Reprints | Unlock Link | Print

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Connecticut lawmakers Tuesday granted final legislative approval to extending Gov. Ned Lamont’s emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic to May 20, despite concerns raised by Republicans who argued it’s time for the General Assembly to take back its authority.

The Democratic-controlled Senate voted along partisan lines, 24-10, to authorize the Democratic governor to renew the state’s public health and civil preparedness emergency declarations through May 20. They were set to expire April 20. The measure already cleared the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

“We do not have this pandemic in the rear-view mirror, as of yet. It is still staring us in the face,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, noting the administration reported more than 3,200 new confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 over the weekend.

Looney credited Lamont will handling his extraordinary executive authority in a “prudent and measured way,” noting the state Supreme Court on Monday, in elaborating on an earlier decision involving a Milford tavern owner, affirmed the governor has the authority to order closures and partial shut downs during the pandemic.

Yet Republican argued it’s time to evaluate the more than 90 executive orders Lamont has issued and begin deciding which should continue.

“It’s time to get together on these executive orders. It’s time to understand where we’re going,” said Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme. “Let’s accentuate and codify the good. Let’s remove the outdated and let’s modify what needs to be and do that together as a coequal branch in the legislature and move forward.”

The Senate did vote unanimously on a second bill that essentially codifies one of Lamont’s more popular executive orders for one more year. Under the legislation, restrictions on outside dining at restaurants will be relaxed through March 31, 2022.

Lamont thanked legislators for their action on Tuesday, calling it a “critical” step to ensuring the state’s vaccine and testing programs “remain nimble and accessible to all of our residents” and that the state can get “back to normal as quickly as possible.”