Bill > SF686

This bill fundamentally changes Minnesota's emergency powers framework by shifting the authority to declare emergencies from the governor to the state legislature. The bill, titled the "Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act", requires that emergency declarations must now be made by a two-thirds vote of both legislative houses, limiting the governor's previous unilateral power to declare emergencies. Key provisions include requiring legislative approval for emergency declarations, restricting the duration of emergencies to five days unless extended by another legislative vote, and explicitly protecting citizens' constitutional rights during emergencies (such as free speech, religious freedom, right to assemble, and right to operate a business). The bill also repeals existing statutes related to gubernatorial emergency declarations and modifies numerous other state laws to replace references to "governor-declared" emergencies with "legislature-declared" emergencies. Additionally, the bill stipulates that emergency declarations can only occur under specific circumstances, such as national security threats, natural disasters, technological failures, terrorist incidents, or civil disturbances, and mandates that local government resources must be inadequate to handle the situation before an emergency can be declared.

Government Affairs

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0686&ssn=0&y=2025