Excerpted from Bakersfield.com
Jan 31, 2022
By Assemblyman Vince Fong
California is nearing the one-year mark of the proclaimed state of emergency by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The resilient people of California have endured absolute upheaval of their lives and means of earning a living in order to combat this pandemic. However, the public is rightfully frustrated as the governor continues to mandate confusing shutdowns, move goalposts in a manner that defies logic and is not transparent with the data in which he is making his decisions.
As frustration continues to grow in every part of the state, our current situation is a reminder to all of us why proper checks-and-balances are so important and foundational to a representative democracy and a functional state. The checks-and-balances in our Constitution are a mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability in our government.
Gov. Newsom has had one-man rule status under the declared state of emergency for nearly a year, which is a dangerous proposition. The California Emergency Services Act (CESA) of 1970 grants the governor sweeping power to suspend regulatory statutes that may hinder or delay the mitigation of impact during a state of emergency without the approval of the Legislature. By design, CESA affords the governor important flexibility to be nimble and implement a swift response to instantaneous calamities such as earthquakes, riots or a collapsing dam.
CESA was not intended to allow the governor to sidestep or unilaterally change laws that directly contradict the will of the people. Most importantly, CESA was never intended to be used as an instrument of Gov. Newsom’s rule by decree or enforcement of his preferred policies, especially not in the name of a public health crisis.
Emergency executive powers were designed to be very temporary and do not justify Gov. Newsom’s open-ended overreach — and the courts agree.
My republican colleagues, Assemblyman James Gallagher and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, successfully filed lawsuits to challenge Newsom’s executive overreach and prevented him from unilaterally changing state laws without the approval of the state legislature.
To curb Newsom’s unilateral reign and finally restore our state’s constitutional checks-and-balances, I authored AB 108, which limits the governor’s one-man rule by requiring the governor to seek approval from the legislature before enacting any changes to laws or regulations starting 60 days after declaring a state of emergency.
Since March 2020, Gov. Newsom has not only operated without accountability by running roughshod over California’s checks-and-balances, but he has also kept the public in the dark over what data he is using to make his decisions.
Assemblymember Vince Fong represents most of Kern County, the California 34th Assembly District.