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CA Governor Gavin Newsom extended his COVID-19 state of emergency declaration through March 2022 - why does he still need it?
Using his COVID-19 state of emergency declaration, Newsom can implement any pandemic policy using his executive order without having to submit to the Legislature.
While there still are a few Democratic governors that are still using these emergency declarations, there are a few that decided to let theirs expire. New York, Illinois, California, and Washington are all states that are still using these emergency declarations. That being said, Colorado and Minnesota are both states that decided to let their emergency declarations expire citing that vaccinations have been effective at preventing COVID and hospitalizations.
Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado discussed letting his emergency declaration expire in July. He said:
“The health emergency is over,”
He continued,
“Our hospital capacity is no longer in jeopardy. The virus is certainly still with us and the work continues around vaccinations and economic recovery, but it’s an exciting day because it really is an acknowledgment that the steps that Coloradans took to help contain the virus worked.”
Why do Newsom and other democratic governors still need these emergency declarations intact?