Connecticut
will stay under a COVID-19 emergency until next year after state lawmakers
extended it until Feb. 15.
It
marked the sixth time lawmakers have given sweeping powers to Gov. Ned Lamont.
Included under the emergency are requirements for masks in schools and a
mandate for vaccines for teachers, school bus drivers and nursing home workers.
Half
of states still have a COVID-19 emergency. But in the Northeast where infection
rates are low, it's only Connecticut and Rhode Island. It has prompted his
critics to call for an end to the emergency once and for all.
Gov.
Lamont says he still needs flexibility to make quick decisions, especially when
it comes to rolling out vaccines to children. Top lawmakers from both parties
can veto his orders.
"I
want them involved. I want them to weigh in. They have the right to weigh in on
any single executive order I do,” said the Democratic governor.
Homeless
shelters say they need an emergency too. Without it, the federal government
won't pay for hotel rooms this winter.
But
opponents say the crisis is over. Republicans are trying to shift the
conversation to rising crime in the state ahead of the 2022 election cycle.
"COVID
is a horrible and dangerous disease that has taken the lives of far too many
adults, especially older adults. But rising violence and crime is stealing the
lives of far too many young Connecticut residents today,” said state Sen. Ryan
Fazio (R-Greenwich), who won a special election just last month.
Gov.
Lamont says this should be the last time he asks for an extension. Even top
Democrats say this is probably the last one he’s going to get.