Daily Digest for April 17, 2020 Posted at 6:45 a.m. by Cody Nelson |
Good morning and welcome to the weekend. Here's your Friday Digest, brought to you (mostly) by MPR News reporter Brian Bakst.
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If you're wondering where Gov. Tim Walz is getting his power ... Brian Bakst has answers, starting with the definition of emergency power: "It’s in state statute, number 12.31 to be precise. That law spells out two kinds of emergencies. One involves a national security emergency such as a war or hostile action against the state or country. The other, which applies in this case, covers more circumstances — natural disasters, terrorist incidents, industrial accidents or civil disturbances. It doesn’t specifically list a health or pandemic crisis, but Walz stressed when he first signed it on March 13 that he believed he was on solid footing. Walz described 'the infectious disease known as COVID-19' to be 'an act of nature.'"
While Walz is drawing Republicans' ire, his actions have precedent. Via Bakst: "This is far from the first time — or even the first health crisis — to prompt a peacetime emergency. But the power has more regularly been used without controversy to respond to tornadoes, floods, droughts or other natural disasters. A Minnesota Legislative Reference Library database of executive orders since 1967 shows hundreds of emergency actions by governors. They haven’t always cited the specific peacetime emergency law, but dozens have listed it."
There is something different in what Walz is doing, however. Brian writes: "One big difference, in this case, is how Walz has stacked his orders. Since issuing that first one in March, he’s followed with almost three dozen others that all point back to his declaration of a peacetime emergency." It'll likely prompt a discussion of the governor's emergency authority.
The University of Minnesota wants $20 million from the Legislature for a major new COVID-19 testing push. Via Tim Nelson: "University of Minnesota experts said Thursday that with $20 million in state funding they could soon begin testing up to 10,000 people per day for the coronavirus and another 10,000 per day for the presence of antibodies that indicate they have recovered from COVID-19. That could provide a huge boost to Minnesota’s efforts to slowly reopen the economy. Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that Minnesota would need a drastic increase in COVID-19 testing in the next three weeks in order to begin safely restarting business sectors."
Seven Midwest states, including Minnesota, have an agreement for reopening their economies. The agreement among Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Kentucky follows similar pacts on the West Coast and in the Northeast. “We look forward to working with experts and taking a fact-based, data-driven approach to reopening our economy in a way that protects families from the spread of COVID-19,” the governors said, per the AP. “Our No. 1 priority when analyzing when (is) best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens.” |
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