1889 Institute: Time to rethink Oklahoma's emergency powers

TIME TO RETHINK OKLAHOMA’S EMERGENCY POWERS The legislature must be forced to act in extended emergencies. OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (July 21, 2021) – The 1889 Institute has released “Rethinking Emergency Powers in Oklahoma,” a proposal to reform the state’s emergency powers provisions. It proposes that declared emergencies last only one week before the legislature must weigh in to extend such declarations by two weeks. After that, the legislature must pass explicit enactments according to warranted circumstances. Right now, Oklahoma’s Emergency Management Act allows the legislature to extend an emergency declaration indefinitely. “The legislature—the body in which all laws originate—is the proper authority to determine the best path forward in an ongoing, long-term emergency situation,” said the study’s author, 1889 Research Fellow, Mike Davis. “Emergency powers are a dangerous tool, granting nearly unchecked power to officials at the executive level of governments. It should only exist with tight safeguards,” Davis said. Davis also criticizes the way an emergency is defined in Oklahoma law. Read more » by Jamison Faught - July 21, 2021 at 09:40PM

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