Republicans again push to curb Murphy’s emergency powers — and now a Democrat has joined

Republican state lawmakers have introduced numerous bills aiming to curb the wide-reaching emergency powers Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has used over the last two years to combat the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey. None of them have gone anywhere in the Democratic-controlled state Legislature.

But their latest effort has something their previous ones didn’t: the support of at least one Democrat.

The measure would limit the length a New Jersey governor could declare a state of emergency and public-health emergency to 60 days, unless the Legislature approves an extension.

Currently, a state of emergency lasts until the governor lifts it, while a public-health emergency expires after 30 days, though the governor can keep issuing renewals every 30 days.

The bill (S1200) would also give lawmakers the authority to terminate both emergency declarations if two-thirds of the Legislature votes yes.

State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, a main sponsor, said state Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, has signed on as a co-sponsor.

O’Scanlon told NJ Advance Media on Monday the goal is not to “punish” Murphy but to restore the balance of power between the governor and the Legislature.

“No other state leaves the Legislature totally emasculated,” O’Scanlon said.

This comes three weeks after Murphy declared a new public-health emergency to fight a massive surge in COVID-19 driven by the omicron variant, after lawmakers declined to extend his remaining powers nearly two years after the pandemic began. That allows the governor to keep a number of orders in place, including the much-debated mandate that masks be worn in schools.

The omicron wave has been waning in recent weeks, with both daily cases and hospitalizations dropping. Murphy has not yet said whether he will extend the new emergency another 30 days.

He said this weekend both the state and country will need to “learn how to live with this” since we’re not gonna manage this to zero.”

O’Scanlon also noted how the new bill comes two months after an election in which Democrats kept control of both houses of the Legislature but Republicans gained seven seats. Many Democrats have since spoke about the need to listen to voters more closely.

O’Scanlon said it’s “unfathomable to many people that our laws would allow a single person to wield such an astonishing amount of authority with virtually no oversight.”

“The voters sent a clear message in November that they ought not be ignored,” he said. “They’re pissed off.”

Gopal, a relatively moderate Democrat who won re-election to his Jersey Shore district by a thin margin, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.

Now the question is whether Democratic leaders of the Legislature will post the bill for a vote. O’Scanlon said he believes leadership is “open-minded to this.”

New state Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, told News 12 New Jersey this weekend there have been “active discussions” on both sides of the aisle about giving the Legislature more of a say in emergencies.

“The Legislature does need to be at the table because we’re the people’s representatives,” Scutari said.

But, he noted, top lawmakers will “probably wait and see” if Murphy extends the emergency.

“Since we believe this is coming to the end, we’re hopeful any actions we have to take won’t seem like they’re reactionary,” Scutari said. “They’ll be well thought out and looking forward, not backward.”

Spokespeople for state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

If the Legislature does pass the bill, it’s possible Murphy could simply veto it. The governor’s office on Monday declined to comment on “pending legislation.”

Murphy declared both a state of emergency and a public-health emergency in March 2020 as the virus was starting to spread rapidly through New Jersey, an early COVID-19 hotspot. The pandemic has since killed more than 30,000 residents.

The public-health emergency gave Murphy the authority, under the state’s Emergency Health Powers Act of 2005, to unilaterally install sweeping measures to curb the virus’ spread, including lockdowns, mask orders, and vaccine mandates.

The state of emergency remains in effect. The governor renewed the public-health emergency more than a dozen times before he cut a deal with top Democratic lawmakers to end the order in June of 2021, while keeping some powers to continue managing the pandemic through the end of the year. That was over the objection of Republicans who said the governor had already wielded too much control for too long.

When those powers were set to expire earlier this month, the Legislature declined to renew them. So Murphy declared a new emergency, saying the virus was still “a significant threat to our state” and “we must commit every resource available to beating back the wave caused by the omicron variant.”

The new bill, if enacted, would apply not just to Murphy but every New Jersey governor going forward.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.