California Supreme Court won’t hear Republican case on Newsom’s emergency COVID-19 powers

The state’s highest court declined to to hear an appeal arguing against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s use of emergency power during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The California Supreme Court denied the petition for review submitted by Assemblymen James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, which allows a lower-court ruling affirming Newsom’s powers to stand.

Gallagher and Kiley sued the governor last year, saying the Democrat acted illegally when he issued an executive order laying out procedures for a mail-in election. The lawmakers, who represented themselves in court, said Newsom had unconstitutionally used executive action under the California Emergency Services Act when he changed how the state would conduct elections that year.

Last fall, a Sutter County Superior Court judge sided with the Republican lawmakers, but the decision was later overturned by the 3rd District Court of Appeals in May.

The appeals court found that Newsom’s order complied with the state’s Emergency Services Act, which gives the governor expanded powers in extreme circumstances.

“We conclude the issuance of such orders did not constitute an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power,” the appeals court justices wrote in their May decision.

Newsom has faced criticism for what some said were unilateral decisions during the pandemic, such as directives that limited indoor gatherings. Republicans refer to the orders Newsom’s “one-man-rule,” and have cited the emergency decisions in the campaign to recall him from office.

Gallagher on Wednesday tweeted his disappointment.

“....the highest court in CA has taken a pass on providing any legal review of perhaps the greatest example of executive overreach in modern history,” he said. “They literally have nothing to say about it. Sad.”

Erin Mellon, in the governor’s office, said the administration was pleased with the court’s decision not to hear a “misguided attack on California’s Emergency Services Act,” which enables the state to respond quickly to emergencies like the pandemic and devastating wildfires.

“It’s a law that carefully balances the Legislature’s and Governor’s roles, and we’re glad the state Supreme Court recognized there was no need to entertain fringe legal theories that sought to upset that balance,” Mellon said in a statement.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 4:11 PM with the headline "California Supreme Court won’t hear Republican case on Newsom’s emergency COVID-19 powers."