Advocates for Faith & Freedom have filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court in an effort to end Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state of emergency, enacted more than a year ago to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a press release, the organization claims in recent statements and in other lawsuits, the governor has acknowledged that the reasons for initially declaring the state of emergency no longer apply and requirements for the declaration no longer exist.
"Our democratic system was never intended to give the governor the unconscionable authority to hold a death-grip on civil liberties," Robert Tyler, president of Advocates for Faith & Freedom, said in the release. "The California state statute requires the state of emergency be terminated at the earliest moment conditions warrant."
Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a non-profit law firm, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Orange County Board of Education, Children’s Health Defense and Children’s Health Defense – California Chapter. When contacted for comment, Newsom’s office said it has not yet been served, and as a result cannot comment on the details contained in the lawsuit.
“As numerous courts have recognized, including a recent decision in San Diego County dismissing a lawsuit including virtually identical claims, state law authorizes the continued state of emergency, which remains necessary to combat COVID-19,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office said in an email. “Flexibility under the limited EO provisions that remain in effect under the emergency remains essential to support the ongoing efforts that keep Californians safe: Efforts to push vaccinations, particularly for those newly eligible, and boosters, as well as the continued need for robust testing capacity and support for hospitals and health care system to ensure all Californians can get the care they need.”
Newsom recently extended the state of emergency a third time, and it now set to run through March 31, 2022, according to the news release, which also claimed it gives Newsom the power to bypass normal legislative processes and simply issue orders and laws that impact residents’ lives.
Scott J. Street, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in the release that emergency powers were intended to enable elected officials to act decisively in extreme circumstances when the normal process of government is impeded.
"After nearly two years, it is time to restore transparency and accountability to government decision-making, something that can only be done by ending the state of emergency and returning California to normal governance,” he said in the statement. “We brought this action to do that.”
Mari Barke, president of the Orange County Board of Education, pointed out in the release that half of the states have already ended their state of emergency status as a result of the success in dealing with the pandemic.
“It’s time Gov. Newsom follows suit for the sake of families in California,” she concluded in the news release.