Efforts To Thwart Newsom Continue From RivCo GOP Lawmaker

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, has introduced legislation seeking to limit and narrowly define Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency powers.

"It's been a year since Gov. Newsom declared a state of emergency for California," Melendez said. "It's time we take this unilateral control away from the governor for good because Californians have had enough."

Job losses, business closures, dole-outs of billions of dollars to fraudulent applicants by the Employment Development Department, and shuttered schools are among the lawmaker's criticisms leveled at the governor.

Under Melendez's Senate Bill 448, all future emergency declarations would need to be clearly defined with a stated duration and scope. The bill would establish that the Legislature maintain an oversight role, either agreeing or disagreeing with a governor's determinations, she said.

SB 448 would also prohibit any state agency from issuing emergency orders that infringe on constitutional rights.

"If the Legislature won't act to end the current state of emergency ... and return response efforts to the locals where they belong, then we must change the rules a future governor may follow when exerting their authority," the senator said.

Melendez and other Republican lawmakers sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, which has sought to end the coronavirus state of emergency that Newsom declared last March by forcing the Legislature to vote on its validity. The resolution has failed to gain traction.

Newsom has consistently maintained that his stream of executive orders tied to the statewide COVID-19 response have been based on efforts to contain and mitigate the virus, in the interest of public health.

He was sued by Assemblymen James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, and Kevin Kiley, R-El Dorado, resulting in a trial court issuing an injunction in November that prohibited Newsom from continuing to issue emergency orders in lieu of legislative action. However, that injunction was tabled pending appeal by the governor.

In his appellate brief, he said his orders were in response to "the most serious crisis in modern California history" and that he has exercised his authority under the California Emergency Services Act to prevent "uncoordinated (and) haphazard action" that could make matters worse during the pandemic.

Melendez's 28th Senate District includes the cities of Blythe, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Murrieta, Temecula, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Wildomar.

—Toni McAllister contributed to this report.