Extension of powers should be the last

The reasoning behind the invocation of emergency powers for Gov. Ned Lamont last year were easy to understand. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic left everyone in unprecedented danger, with the Legislature unable to meet in person and huge decisions needed quickly. It made sense to take on those powers in 2020.

It also made sense to extend those powers in September. A vaccine remained far away, and there was little sign the crisis would be waning. The emergency powers, which allow Lamont to, among other things, restrict commerce, limit the size of gatherings and require the wearing of masks in public places, were necessary.

Now Lamont is extending them again. This time, the reasoning is harder to justify.

It’s not that anyone believes the crisis is over. Even though vaccines are available and are being administered to those most in danger, the worst of the pandemic could still be ahead of us, experts say. It will be many months before anything resembling normal life returns.

But some context has changed. For one, the Legislature is now back in session, albeit from a distance.

While there are many problems to work through in an all-remote session, elected representatives have an important role to play in the state’s decision-making process, and must be involved in all key aspects. And since members of Lamont’s party are in firm control of both houses of the Legislature, it’s not as though there would likely be much dissent, anyway.

The extension this time would be for two months, and Lamont said it would give the government an opportunity to further oversee the vaccination process and try to keep infections low enough that the hospital system could handle the load. Those are certainly worthwhile goals, but the justification for emergency powers to meet those marks is harder to understand.

Republicans say they were blindsided by the extension of the powers, while Democratic legislators say it was clear all along that this was the next step. What should be clear to all sides is that this is the last extension of those powers. More than a year will have elapsed under this paradigm by the time the latest extension ends, and while no one expects COVID to be gone by then, the continuation of the emergency powers vested to Lamont should be.

Once that happens — and this may fall to a future Legislature, once the lessons of COVID can be truly absorbed — the governor and lawmakers need to hammer out a better understanding of what circumstances require the adoption of emergency powers and what constitutes the end of a crisis. There are many unanswered questions with our current situation, and those issues are ripe for a legislative remedy when the dust eventually settles.

There is still a crisis. The danger has not passed, and experts are clear that lightening up on our response now could lead to worse outcomes than we’ve seen at any time during the outbreak. But the day will come when normal life returns, and the role of our elected representatives must remain as strong as it was always meant to be.

While there are many problems to work through in an all-remote session, elected representatives have an important role to play in the state’s decision-making process, and must be involved in all key aspects.