Cuomo’s coronavirus powers

In sharp contrast to a president who’s trying so hard to convey competence and command regarding the novel coronavirus that he’s contradicting experts and misleading the public, Gov. Cuomo is sticking to public health experts’ advice, communicating neither panic nor irrational confidence.

But no one in Albany has yet justified the overbroad toolkit of emergency powers the Legislature handed Cuomo after almost zero discussion or debate last week.

First, the legislation redefines what the state considers a disaster or emergency, expanding it from an event that’s either already occurring or “imminent” (a word with a specific temporal meaning in case law) to include any “impending or urgent threat.” Climate change would arguably qualify.

Cuomo, like governors in 35 other states, already had power to temporarily suspend any statute that impeded the state’s ability to respond to an emergency, a serious power intended for sparing use, because it circumvents the democratic process. The new law gives the governor authority to unilaterally “issue any directive” he deems necessary to “cope” with emergencies, a power only shared with North Carolina’s governor.

Yes, red tape can kill in the thick of a crisis, and Cuomo’s right to look for opportunities to slash it. Quarantines and other robust exercises of government power may well be necessary as the epidemic progresses.

None of that justifies such a sweeping handover of authority.

If a cowardly Legislature doesn’t have the guts to amend the law they passed, it must let it lapse when it expires next April.