UPDATE ON LAWSUITS AGAINST GOV. WALZ

St. Paul – Yesterday, a Ramsey County Court dismissed a lawsuit against Governor Walz regarding his emergency powers and constitutional authority in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit was filed by thirteen Republican state legislators and the Free Minnesota Coalition.

“The judge’s ruling in this case is not what we hoped for, but we certainly planned for this outcome,” said Rep. Jeremy Munson (Republican-Lake Crystal). “There will be an appeal of this case to the court of appeals because the merits of the lawsuit are undeniable. A major component of our lawsuit is that current law allows the Minnesota Legislature the power only to terminate an emergency declaration rather than approve it in the first place. This amounts to an unconstitutional legislative veto. Only the Governor should have the power to veto. Even liberal states such as California and Oregon have recognized this basic fact.”

The thirteen Republican legislators who were a part of the lawsuit are Rep. Steve Drazkowski, Rep. Tim Miller, Rep. Cal Bahr, Rep. Jeremy Munson, Rep. Shane Mekeland, Rep. Mary Franson, Rep. Eric Lucero, Rep. Joe McDonald, Rep Jeff Backer, Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, Sen. Scott Jensen, Sen. Mike Goggin, and Sen. Andrew Mathews. Additionally, the Free Minnesota Coalition is led by Dan McGrath.

“While this lawsuit will be appealed, there are still other court decisions we are waiting on regarding Governor Walz’s power,” said Rep. Cal Bahr (Republican-East Bethel). “There is a hearing in federal court on September 21st which will also take up the matter of Governor Walz writing his own laws, appropriating funds, and operating as a dictator. The Minnesota people cannot sit still while our constitutional rights are destroyed.”

The members of the New House Republican Caucus have set up a “Go-Fund-Me” page to raise money for further lawsuits against Governor Walz.

The “Go-Fund-Me” page can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/StopWalz    

“We have essentially two crises occurring at the same time, and both come directly from the Governor’s actions,” said Rep. Steve Drazkowski (Republican-Mazeppa). “The first is a constitutional crisis in which the Governor seems to believe he is above the law. Since March, Tim Walz has acted without proper accountability to the people. The second crisis is the economic devastation that has occurred due to the unconstitutional executive orders of this Governor. Our hope this that the lawsuits against Governor Walz will promptly address both crises at once.”

The NHRC is led by Rep. Steve Drazkowski (Republican-Mazeppa). It includes Rep. Cal Bahr (Republican-East Bethel), Rep. Tim Miller (Republican-Prinsburg), and Rep. Jeremy Munson (Republican-Lake Crystal). 

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