UPDATE: CT Lawmakers Extend Lamont's Emergency Powers

CONNECTICUT — Legislators in Hartford voted Wednesday to approve a measure that extended Gov. Ned Lamont's declarations of public health and civil preparedness emergencies through Sept. 30.

Representatives in the House passed the legislation by 73-56. Senators approved the extension by a vote of 19-15.

Specifically, the governor had asked that 11 of his executive orders, set to expire July 20, be extended.

Among the orders the governor sought to extend is one that allows for the distribution of vaccines in parking lots, and another that affords tenants additional time to pay back rent. Arguably the most hotly contested orders involve mask-wearing in some settings, most notably for children under the age of 12 who cannot be vaccinated.

"These orders are still needed to protect the public and continue critical measures to provide healthcare access and economic relief and respond to evolving changes," Lamont wrote in a recent email to state lawmakers. He has said the emergency powers need to stay in place at least through the beginning of the school year.

An estimated 250 who disagree protested Monday afternoon at the state capitol.

"I'm reminded of a line from 'The Wizard of Oz,' which is a fitting analogy for the way that this state continues to operate. That line is 'You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark.' My question remains: if we are not at that point yet, what is the standard for us to define when we would be? I would argue that there will be variants of this virus for the rest of our lives. Many of my constituents received the vaccine and do not want to be bound to the porch of their home. They also do not want their children bound by masks as they go back into the classroom to learn and socialize with their peers," said Chief Deputy Senate Republican Leader Craig Miner in a statement released shortly after the vote Wednesday.

Lamont issued executive orders on a near-daily basis between mid-March and into early April 2020, and they came with their share of controversy even then. Some Republican legislators argued that they reached too broadly beyond health and into economic matters, such as private contracts between tenants and landlords and the right to sue in the case of nursing homes. The governor announced the first extension of the orders last September.

Declaring a state of emergency was a common governance tactic in the spring of 2020, but it has become a tougher sell as infection rates have plummeted. Twenty-seven states still have virus emergencies in place. In the Northeast, emergency orders remain only in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The demand for the vaccine has also dropped sharply in Connecticut. Just over 36,200 doses were administered in the most recent week reported by the state Department of Public Health, down from a high of around 315,000 in April.