HARTFORD – House Republican Leader Themis Klarides today issued the following statement regarding the Governor’s issuance of the continuance of Executive Orders until Feb. 9:
"The legislature agreed on the onset of the COVID-19 virus last March to grant the governor executive authority over the day-to-day, and emergency operations of the state of Connecticut that he would not otherwise have had under our Constitution and General Statutes, given that the Capitol had to be effectively shut down. We recognized at that time the need to extend emergency powers to the executive branch for the six-month period that was agreed to.
"Meanwhile, legislative leaders have been engaged in extensive discussions with the governor on how best to continue the management of the State of Connecticut. Republicans have not agreed to extending out for an additional five months blanket executive authority to run the State of Connecticut absent legislative oversight. It was not our intention to either extend or eliminate all of the nearly 70 Executive Orders on Sept. 9.
"We will continue to work with our Democratic colleagues to resolve our differences. The 10-member committee should exercise its authority and weigh on the Governor’s decision to extend the Executive Orders through Feb. 9, 2021."
