Gov. Tim Walz has informed lawmakers that he plans to end his emergency powers Aug. 1.

Minnesota has been in a State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. 

The emergency powers have been a frequent source of contention between Republicans and Democrats in St. Paul. Each month Walz extended the state of emergency, lawmakers had to be called back into special session. Republicans were never able to garner enough votes to overturn it. 

KSTP's Tom Hauser reports than Sen. Paul Gazelka (R) wants the emergency powers to end even more quickly, by July 1. 

Walz has maintained the powers helped him have authority over vaccine efforts and the ability to allocate federal dollars quickly. Republicans felt the emergency has passed and the powers were an overreach. 

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