In the Missouri state House, we represent the people. Because of state legislators’ small districts, we are more accountable to the electorate than either federal representatives or the governor. The governor is not the “legislators’ boss.” Rather, the branches are separate and equal.
It’s time to remind legislators in every state of not only our power but also our obligations. In 2020, when state legislators across the country faced massive executive overreach due to the pandemic and a deeply contentious election, it’s more important than ever that we step up to defend our constitutional role as the mouthpiece of the voters.
This year, executive overreach has been more contagious than COVID-19. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued 192 executive orders with far-reaching consequences, making would-be laws on everything from school closures to turning Michiganders into criminals for operating their businesses — or even boating on the lake.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has shut down businesses based on whether they are “life-sustaining,” but his administration failed to define a “life-sustaining business.”
In perhaps the most absurd example, California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently reinstated some of the harshest lockdown measures in the country, an announcement that came just a few weeks after Newsom was seen defying his guidance on dining out. According to his administration, all dining should be done outside and with no more than three households, and masks should be worn between bites. At Newsom’s French Laundry party, there was no mask in sight: just 12 or so people dining inside, including two lobbyists.
While this overreach is flagrant and occasionally insulting, we might miss the point: It’s called “overreach” because the executive branch is flouting the parameters set by the legislature. It’s legislators’ job to introduce policies, listen to citizens’ input, debate the ideas on the floor, offer amendments, and present solid measures to the executive branch to sign. When legislators allow the governor and administration to set the rules, it’s not just that we’re renouncing our constitutional obligation to make laws. Worse than that, we’re ensuring that constituents get the short end of the stick. There’s no way that an executive order set by the governor’s administration could be as well thought out, as debated, as bipartisan, or as refined as a bill passed by the legislature. The process works because it protects the will of the people, preventing rash policies from being imposed by one overeager person.
In an election year, the legislature has an especially important role to play. Every four years, the state legislature certifies the electors who go on to select the president. Legislators have the authority to investigate, confirm, and certify presidential election results. By the Constitution, that is not a privilege granted to the governor, the secretary of state, or anyone else in the bureaucracy. This is why I find it troubling that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s refused to call a special session of the legislature to review the certification.
I am not arguing that legislators should have overridden their states’ reported election results or refused to certify them. Rather, I am stating that whatever governors, elected officials, or media commentators might say, it is the legislatures that have the duty to investigate election results until their respective legislative bodies are satisfied and certify them. Through investigations, lawsuits, or special sessions, we must take every action to ensure the election results reflect the true and accurate will of the people. We must not let ourselves be shouted down by partisan officials or media players. Our role is too important for us to sideline ourselves.
Legislators have seen our power sapped this year by executive overreach. Executive actions related to the pandemic and to the election have usurped the rightful authority of the legislative branch, and we now face a dangerous imbalance of power. It’s time for legislators to take back the power reserved for us in the Constitution.
Justin Hill is a member of the Missouri House of Representatives and represents District 108. Follow him on Twitter @HillforMissouri.
