Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I,Ref-Schoharie) is leading the charge alongside his Minority colleagues to pass legislation that would limit the governor’s expanded powers during emergencies while increasing local capabilities to handle them with a regional approach.

“During extraordinary times, a governor can be justified in making use of emergency powers, but this governor has abused his executive authority far too long,” said Tague. “States of emergency should only exist as long as absolutely necessary and local leaders and citizens deserve a say in how the places they live are restricted during times of crisis. Taking a one size fits all approach to emergency management in a state as large and diverse as ours just doesn’t make sense, as rural municipalities make senseless sacrifices due to restrictions designed to protect those in urban areas. Additionally, my bill takes the very important step of protecting the constitutional liberties of our people by subjecting any restrictions on them to a strict due process review. Our governor has needlessly deprived our people of their right to worship, and my hope is that this bill prevents him or any other malicious executive who may come to power in the future from using a crisis as an excuse to take away our fundamental rights.”

The bill would require future states of emergency to be declared on a county-by-county basis rather than statewide, and all states of emergency would automatically end after 30 days, after which the governor could choose to extend them by 15 days. Local authorities would also be granted the power to request that the governor end an unnecessary state of emergency, and if he refuses, he must then provide reasoning for his decision. The legislation would also protect fundamental constitutional rights during states of emergency, as any limitations on them would be subject to due process review.