Virtual File - Item

Text: May 13, 2020

Representative Melissa Hortman
Speaker of the House
463 State Office Building
St. Paul, MN 55155

Representative Kurt Daudt
Minority Leader
267 State Office Building
St. Paul, MN 55155

Senator Paul Gazelka
Majority Leader
3113 Minnesota Senate Building
St. Paul, MN 55155

Senator Susan Kent
Minority Leader
2227 Minnesota Senate Building
St. Paul, MN 55155

Re: Extension of COVID-19 peacetime emergency

Speaker Hortman, Majority Leader Gazelka, Minority Leader Kent, and Minority Leader Daudt:

Thank you for your partnership during these challenging times. As you know, on March 13, 2020, in Executive Order 20-01, I declared a peacetime emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. That declaration was extended by the Executive Council on March 16, 2020. After notifying you of my intentions, on April 13, 2020, I extended the peacetime emergency until today, May 13, 2020. When I wrote to you last month, Minnesota had experienced 70 fatalities as a result of COVID-19. As of yesterday, COVID-19 had claimed the lives of more than 600 Minnesotans. We have continued to implement policies and exercise emergency powers to protect the health and safety of all Minnesotans. As COVID-19 cases and fatalities continue to increase, our emergency efforts must also continue. As a result, I have determined that there is a need to extend the peacetime emergency for an additional 30 days, until June 12, 2020.

Minnesota law provides that the Legislature may terminate a peacetime emergency that extends beyond 30 days by a majority vote of each house of the Legislature. Minnesota law also provides that, if I determine a need to extend a peacetime emergency beyond 30 days, and the Legislature is not sitting in session, I must issue a call immediately convening both houses of the Legislature. Because the Legislature is currently sitting in session, there is no need for me to issue such a call. Please consider this letter as notice of my intention to extend the peacetime emergency declared in Executive Order 20-01 beyond 30 days under Minnesota Statutes 2019, section 12.31, subdivision 2(b). Although I am not expressly required to do so, I plan to seek the Executive Council's approval of this extension and any future extensions.

As I explained last month, although Minnesota law is largely silent as to the procedure for extending peacetime emergencies beyond 30 days, I have concluded that the following procedure, which draws on elements of Minnesota Statutes 2019, section 12.31, subdivision 2, is prudent:

• I will continue to extend the peacetime emergency in 30-day increments, calculated in accordance with Minnesota Statutes 2019, section 645.15.
• I will seek the Executive Council's approval of each extension.
• If the Legislature is not currently sitting in session on the day of the extension, I will call the Legislature into special session.

If a further extension of the peacetime emergency is needed beyond June 12, 2020, I will follow the above steps and call the Legislature into a special session on or before June 12, 2020.

Sincerely,

Tim Walz
Governor