Orange County Board Sues To End State of Emergency

By Kevin Kiley, Republican Assemblyman, District 6

Gavin Newsom is off to NYC to promote his new children’s book. This comes after 3 days in Nevada, a week in Cabo, and a mysterious 13-day disappearance. 

He’s chosen a bad time to go jet-setting. Just as courts have stopped all 3 of Biden’s mandate orders, the Orange County Board of Education, led by Mari Barke, has filed a lawsuit to terminate the State of Emergency. 

The premise is simple: a Governor doesn’t get to end the emergency at his leisure. He’s required to do so “at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.” The Court made this clear in my case against Newsom:

“The Emergency Services Act is not a statute of indefinite duration…The Emergency Services Act obligates the governor to declare the state of emergency terminated as soon as conditions warrant.”

In Gallagher and Kiley v. Newsom, the Court based its decision on the need for a Governor to respond quickly to emergency conditions. This suggests that if the Governor vacates his office to go on a book tour, it’s no longer legally an emergency.

This is the ultimate lawsuit, as ending the emergency terminates all other orders automatically. Granted, the courts have failed us time and again. But with Newsom barely ever in California, they'll have a harder time ignoring what a farce this has become.