New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had been criticized in the past for her overuse of emergency powers, as well as for prolonging her emergency powers for entirely too long. As of Midnight on Monday, September 13, 2022, Kathy Hochul will allow the emergency powers to expire. COVID-19 deaths and transmission has been on the downtick for months on end, schools are back in session, and most businesses are not requiring masks anymore. In a time when the average person is relaxed about COVID-19 and hospitals are not overrun with COVID-19 patients it’s not entirely clear why there were still emergency powers in place.
Hochul, a Democrat who took office last year after then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped down, has extended two executive orders each month which allows her to bypass state contracting rules and the easing licensing rules for health care workers.
The orders are set to expire at midnight.
“I will not be renewing them this time,” Hochul said Monday. “We’re in a different place now. We’ve been making announcements about taking masks off on public transportation. We have a new booster shot as of a few days ago.”
The emergency allowed the state to secure COVID testing kits and to send tests to laboratories out of state, she said.
Hochul has faced criticism from Republicans, particularly her opponent U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin for using her emergency powers. Her administration has purchased $600 million worth of at-home COVID tests, the Times Union reported.
Gov. Kathy Hochul came into power after Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped down due to multiple allegations of sexual harassment. Because Hochul hasn’t yet won a race for Governor of New York and was chosen for the position she has no experience campaigning and winning an election of Governor of New York. Her election against U.S. Rep Lee Zeldin is more tightly contested than many had previously thought, and while Gov. Hochul is still the favorite to win, U.S. Rep Zeldin still has a chance of winning.
