JULY 23, 2020
Here is a 150-page document most of us thought we’d never see, at least not in this country.
It lays bare the anatomy of one-man rule, listing every Executive Order Gavin Newsom has issued, every law he’s changed.
It’s a testament to the collapse of constitutional government in California. These are the raw numbers:
- 1 Emergency Declaration
- 142 Days
- 46 Executive Orders
- 400 laws changed
And Gov. Newsom is not done. Far from it: last Friday, he shut down 90 percent of California’s schools – overriding local districts, ignoring the Legislature, and obviating many more laws.
He’s flatly refused to discuss any limits on his powers, falsely accusing me of attempting to “prematurely declare an end to this ongoing crisis.”
Of the 400 laws he’s amended, suspended, or overhauled since declaring a State of Emergency on March 4, each one was duly enacted through the legislative process set out in the Constitution. And each one was undone by Newsom with the stroke of a pen.
He’s also created countless new laws out of whole cloth – something not even the Emergency Services Act allows.
This is not a democracy. It’s a monarchy.
While it was a public health emergency that Newsom declared, he has not stuck to the Public Health Code. The tentacles of his reign reach into 16 other codes, touching nearly every facet of California life:
Businesses & Professions, Civil Procedure, Corporations, Education, Elections, Family, Financial, Government, Harbors & Navigation, Health & Safety, Labor, Public Resources, Revenue & Taxation, Unemployment Insurance, Vehicle, and Welfare & Institutions.
Not only is Gov. Newsom ruling California by decree, but he’s not very good at it. We’re doing the worst of any state when it comes to both public health and the economy, with the most COVID cases and nearly the highest unemployment.
This is no coincidence. Our Founders had good reasons for rejecting autocratic models of government in favor of separation of powers, checks and balances, and the rule of law – all of which Gavin Newsom has discarded.
A number of legislators in both parties have publicly and privately shared my dismay over the collapse of checks and balances in California. Democrat Assemblyman Phil Ting decried the Governor’s “complete authority to do whatever he wants.” This is the furthest thing in the world from a partisan matter.
Of course, legislative leadership hasn’t helped matters by indulging in over 12 weeks of recess since the State of Emergency began.
As readers of this blog know, we are fighting on multiple fronts to rein Newsom in: (1) challenging him in court based on Separation of Powers; (2) introducing legislation to end his emergency powers; (3) pressing legislative leaders to hold votes against his orders; (4) reforming the Emergency Services Act so we are never again at the mercy of a runaway Governor.
With this chilling new milestone of 400 laws changed, it’s time for everyone in the Legislature to take a stand. Gov. Newsom is destroying livelihoods in California today, and doing lasting damage to the civic institutions that have made our state and our country great.