Today, Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R,C,I-Ballston) joined members of the Assembly and Senate Minority Conferences to introduce a resolution that would terminate the state disaster emergency declared by Executive Order 202.

“As our state starts to see the lowest positivity rates in the country and record low hospitalizations, I believe it’s time to move forward and remove the state of emergency declaration. Vaccinations are continuing to progress rapidly, and we are seeing record low positivity rates, including yesterday’s .6% positivity rate in the Capital Region,” said Walsh. “We are just shy of the 70% vaccination rate that the governor announced today as a benchmark to returning ‘back to normal’ - that does not justify a ‘state of emergency’ by any stretch of the imagination.

“Over the past couple of weeks we have been sensing relief in the feeling of normalcy at restaurants and bars, sporting events, concerts and other larger social events. While recognizing that COVID-19 is still out there, we should take action to terminate the state of emergency so we can further loosen restrictions that continue to hinder progress for some individuals and industries.

“It’s time for order to be restored to our state government and the Executive Chamber returned to an equal branch of our government rather than the unilateral decision maker we have seen over the past 15 months. We cannot leave session until we fully and finally remove the governor's emergency powers.”