The state health commissioner told Hoosier lawmakers Thursday Indiana would struggle to effectively respond to future pandemics if the General Assembly limits the governor’s emergency powers.
Dr. Kristina Box said the state’s initial and ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19 have significantly depended on the ability of the governor to make difficult decisions on a daily or hourly basis on myriad pressing issues, including school and business operations, hospital capacity, obtaining personal protective equipment, and other public safety measures.
Box said it’s simply not practical in a public health emergency to wait for days or weeks of discussion and debate by state representatives and senators before coming to some decisions.
“Our ability to respond efficiently and effectively to this once-in-a-lifetime emergency has been tied to the governor’s executive orders from that first week until now,” Box said.
Box was joined at the Senate Rules Committee by Adjutant General Dale Lyles of the Indiana National Guard; Steve Cox, Indiana homeland security director; and Luke Britt, Indiana public access counselor, among others, who all told lawmakers the governor’s emergency orders were essential in preserving Hoosier lives, securing federal COVID-19 assistance, and allowing local governments to continue functioning remotely amid the pandemic.
It was the first public pushback by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration to House Bill 1123, Senate Bill 407, and similar proposals under consideration by the Republican-controlled Legislature that would scale back the governor’s authority in response to some Hoosiers complaining Holcomb has gone too far by issuing a face mask directive and other policies aimed at minimizing the spread of the coronavirus.
The measures include various provisions to time-limit the governor’s emergency powers and authorize the General Assembly to call itself back into session to undo them. Currently, a special legislative session only can be convened if the governor deems it necessary.
State Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, the sponsor of House Bill 1123, said Hoosiers have been asking him for more than a year why the state's COVID-19 decisions only are being made by the governor.
“Where is the voice of the people? Where is the legislative body in this process? Why are you not engaging in these decisions?” Lehman said people ask him.
Holcomb has said he repeatedly asked legislative leaders last year whether they believed a special session was necessary only to repeatedly be told no.
The General Assembly also has been meeting since January in its regular, annual session and so far has not exercised its existing authority to terminate the governor’s COVID-19 emergency orders.
In addition, the supposed public ire toward Holcomb’s alleged abuse of power is belied by Holcomb’s overwhelming reelection victory on Nov. 3, 2020.
The committee also heard from former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan Jr., who said the Indiana Constitution does not authorize the General Assembly to call itself into special session without the consent of the governor.
Sullivan said if that proposal is enacted into law, any legislation adopted during that type of special session likely would be struck down as unconstitutional and ultimately lead to “an unholy mess” — not something you want in an emergency.
Sullivan suggested lawmakers could instead amend the constitution if they want the power to call themselves back into session. Alternatively, he said they could change the strict legislative adjournment deadlines in current statutes to more easily permit the General Assembly to reconvene later in the year.
Senate President Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, said the senators serving on the committee plan to work in the weeks ahead with their House counterparts to devise a proposal acceptable to both chambers.
In any case, Holcomb still has the authority to veto any legislation approved by the House and Senate reducing his emergency powers.
Though, it takes only a simple majority in each chamber — the same needed to adopt a proposal in the first place — to override a gubernatorial veto and enact a measure notwithstanding the governor’s objections.
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