Unbelievable, the COVID-19 emergency in North Carolina is almost over.
According to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, the emergency will be over on August 15.
So, on August 14 the state will still be in full blown emergency status and by August 15 the emergency will have completely gone away. That means that on August 15 the state will stop being ruled by the royal edicts of one man and return to being a republic, where elected officials other than Cooper have some say in how the state handles issues – like which businesses must close and which are allowed to stay open.
If anything says that the laws governing a state of emergency needed to be completely rewritten, it is the fact that legally the state is still in a state of emergency long after the vast majority of the residents of the state have returned to normal lives.
Cooper declared the state of emergency over two years ago, on March 10, 2020, and immediately ran into problems when he issued an executive order closing down all the bars and restaurants in the state on March 17. According to the way the law governing a state of emergency was being interpreted at the time, Cooper needed a majority of the Council of State to concur with his decision. The majority of the Council of State did not concur. Some members of the Council of State had the audacity to request that Cooper allow them to read the executive order before they made a decision.
The Council of State is made up of the 10 state government officials elected statewide. It includes the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, superintendent of public instruction, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of labor and commissioner of insurance. The current Council of State has a six to four Republican majority.
Cooper issued the executive order without the concurrence of the Council of State and attorneys working for the governor’s office found a work around that allowed Cooper to issue executive orders during an emergency without the concurrence of anyone, and thus began all of the shutdowns and other statewide mandates from Cooper.
The state of emergency law has been amended and, beginning on Jan. 1, 2023, the governor will have to have the concurrence of the Council of State if the state of emergency lasts longer than 30 days, and after 60 days the state legislature has to agree to extend the state of emergency.
So it appears that the era of the state being run by royal edict will end on August 15.
Nothing like adding politics to public health policies. Gonna be an even bigger mess if there is another pandemic. I would rather decision makers only consider public health when making these decisions and NOT their re-election potential.
I am supportive of the Council of the State overseeing the Governors recommendation but NOT the legislature. The legislature as that is where the swamp infects rational thought.
Demagogue!
Watching that “free” money dry up will be hilarious. The whole thing has been a blown up farce!
You can be of good cheer. Uncle Roy will reinstate the “emergency” in time for mid-term elections.
You still have King Skippy and Queen Nancy that will mandate so it ain’t over folks. Wait and see.
I can’t wait to get Cooper out of office. In my lifetime we have only had 2 Republican Governors. Long past time for a 3rd. Mark Robinson will bring some sanity to Raleigh, even if it causes WRAL to blow a gasket.
Robinson is a political hack who doesn’t care about truth. Just his poll numbers.
Chris,
I must take personal insult at that unsubstantiated comment about Mark Robinson. I have known Mark before he became involved in politics and can tell you he is a strong Christian man of principles and does not just talk, but is always prepared to back up what he says.
If he is wrong he will admit to it then take steps to make it right, unlike “professional” politicians.
I trust Mark 110%
He is anti science who often spoke against vaccines and even said any politician who support vaccines should be locked up (or something like that, I didn’t go back and look up his idiot statement). He is also talking big again CRT being taught I schools…..when it ISN’T taught I schools. Just another republican parroting Trumpian talking points. A true hack if there ever was one.
Ignorance, when displayed, shows someone who shows a lack the full understanding of the subject they speak of but can learn and adjust.
Stupid on the other is displayed by simple, mindless name calling.
I rest my case. (BTW Chris, in case you’re not sure where you fall, just reread your own post)
Thought this had been over for a while
Does this mean that the state government workers will have to go back to their offices to work? They have had a two year period of “tele-commuting” meaning they were “working” at home. As a person who relies on the work these people perform on a regular basis, I was not able to contact them because they would not give out their cell phone numbers. Email resulted in little if any responses, decisions could not be made and regulatory work collapsed. This has been a total disaster from the beginning. The state department heads must require their employees to return to work immediately and if the employee still feels “uncomfortable” to work in their office, they should become more uncomfortable when they are terminated.
Cooper is on the short (of a dozen or so) list of possible Democratic presidential nominees. My question is WHY? Bettern’ what we got is not a good answer.
Mark my words – NC state of emergency will be reinstated just prior to the beginning of early voting for the November elections. Crazy Uncle Joe and his band of fools will try to make it nationwide. This time, Americans will stand up and say: “We will NOT comply!”