Photo: Ashley Zavala via Twitter
The motion from GOP Lawmakers who were pushing to end the Covid-19 state of emergency declaration was dead upon arrival this morning in the state legislature. Republicans like Assembly members James Gallagher and Kevin Kiley rallied on the steps of the Capitol before entering into the session. Their efforts fell short almost immediately at the start of the session on the Senator floor, not even being brought up for a vote Thursday.
But those lawmakers were still able to make their voices heard before it fell short, citing other Democratic state that are lifting mask mandates and rescinding their state of emergency declarations. They called on the legislature as a whole to end the emergency declaration and mask mandates everywhere immediately saying it has done irreparable damage to businesses and schools. In the press conference, Kiley said, "We’ve had the most severe lock downs, the most severe restrictions mandates throughout when it comes to business closures, school closures. And yet there is no evidence this has done anyone any good.”
Governor Newsom called this disagreement a show political theater, writing this in a statement: "Apparently, Asm. Kiley and Asm. Gallagher believe it would have been better to let Californians die and be turned away from care when hospitals reached capacity during the Omicron surge."