Buffalo, NY (WBEN) When Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced the return of a mask mandate in Erie County Monday, he stated he was doing so with powers afforded him by the continuing state of emergency in Erie County resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
That statement and the continued reliance of emergency powers isn't sitting well with many, including a contingent of Erie County lawmakers who are challenging the continuation of those powers with no legislative 'check'.
Republican Erie County lawmakers are calling on the Western New York delegation in Albany to remove any executive orders Poloncarz still has.
The lawmakers say COVID19 is going to be part of the community and is no longer an emergency.
Chris Greene, along with the rest of the Republican contingent in the legislature, are joining forces in their effort to end the emergency and powers that go along with it.
"Today, we introduced a resolution into the Erie County Legislature that would call on the Western New York Delegation to the New York State Senate and Assembly to introduce and pass a resolution that revokes the emergency order declared by County Executive Poloncarz, which would return the authority he has seized back to the people's elected representatives in the Erie County Legislature. It is our belief that the presence of COVID19 in our community is no longer temporary and no longer constitutes an emergency. It is a reality that we must live and deal with," says a statement in part.
Greene says he and his colleagues are strongly opposed to County Executive Mark Poloncarz's continued reliance on New York State Executive Law to extend Erie County's state of emergency every 30 days.
"Utilizing this provision in state law to declare, without the consent of the Legislative Branch, a state of emergency has allowed County Executive Mark Poloncarz to suspend local laws, ordinances, regulations and promulgate his own."
The same provision of law requires that the emergency declaration shall not exceed 30 days, but it also grants the County Executive the ability promulgate orders related to the emergency for 5 day periods. He can and has extended both for nearly two years."
Greene says Andrew Cuomo even gave up his executive powers last summer before resigning.
