Hello from St. Paul,
We're hearing a lot about executive orders and administrative rules these days, and not for the right reasons. Basically, it's a way for the chief executive to do what he or she wants without consenting the legislative branch.
It seems at both the federal and state level, executive order use is getting extreme, regardless of the party in power.
For example, on his first day in office President Biden issued an executive order that canceled the $9 billion permit for the Keystone Pipeline. Think of the countless union jobs that are lost with this action. Not to mention, what will that move ultimately do for our energy prices?
Then there's the controversial proposal announced by the Walz administration this week that will ultimately raise the price of new vehicles across the state.
Instead of going through the normal process of working with the legislature, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is planning to bypass the legislature and implement the California Cars Mandate through an administrative rule. It kicked off the process by holding its first public hearing on the topic this week.
The California Cars Mandate will ultimately force auto dealers to carry certain vehicles on their lots, regardless if demand for those vehicles exists. Not only will this limit consumer choice on new high-demand vehicles, such as pickups and SUV's, but the mandate will also increase the cost of all new vehicles by $1,000 or more.
And as everyone knows, we continue to live under Governor Walz' emergency powers that were given to him by the Legislature many months ago to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fact that we are past the emergency phase and the legislature is back in session, he refuses to give up the powers and the Minnesota House majority continues to allow it.
This kind of governing sends us down a dangerous path. Good legislation is typically debated in committees and bipartisan compromises are typically found. Executive orders remove the legislative branch completely and put one person in control.
In my opinion it's a poor way to govern at either the state or federal level, regardless of which party holds the executive office.
Have a good weekend,
Nathan