A Virginia state senator compared Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 response with dictatorial actions from the Chinese government during a Senate Rules Committee hearing Wednesday.
Allowing the executive branch to continue to impose mandates without consulting the General Assembly “makes us no different from the Chinese government,” Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, said while voicing support for Senate Joint Resolution 5001.
The resolution, which was sponsored by Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, urged the governor to revoke the COVID-19 state of emergency and allow the General Assembly to address the pandemic. It failed to advance past the committee on a voice vote, with opposition from most Democrats.
Petersen said the pandemic has lasted six months, but it could last 60 months. He said the state of emergency exists for the governor to move immediately during an emergency when the General Assembly cannot act. However, he said there’s nothing to stop the General Assembly from meeting to address the pandemic or to grant the governor certain authority to respond to the pandemic without the need of a state of emergency.
Peake told lawmakers his resolution would reassert the three-prong state of governance and urge the governor to stop governing the state through executive orders. He said the General Assembly is tasked with making the laws, not the governor.
“We do not need to be governed by executive order now,” Peake said. “We are now in session. The general assembly can do its job.”
Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, acknowledged Virginia likely will not get out of this situation until there is a vaccine for the coronavirus, which, he said, could take another year. Edwards, however, said the governor needs to have this authority until a vaccine becomes available.
Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, similarly said the governor needs the authority to make certain decisions as events develop, especially because there could be an uptick in cases and he has to manage the reopening of schools.
The Virginia General Assembly is meeting in a special session to discuss COVID-19-related issues and policing reform.
