The executive orders the governor has issued during the COVID-19 pandemic will be extended until February.
Legislative leaders held a special hearing on Friday morning to vote on nullifying the 67 executive orders Gov. Ned Lamont signed since the coronavirus crisis began to affect in the state in March.
The vote on the motion to nullify the governor's executive orders failed, with six voting no and four voting yes.
The hearing Friday came after Democrats announced Thursday that there would be a hearing to review each of the orders Their Republican colleagues had been calling for the meeting since the governor signed the extension on Tuesday.
The emergency orders will automatically take effect by 2 p.m. Friday. If the orders had been nullified, they would have expired on the original end date, Sept. 9.
The governor’s authority continue now through February, but Republicans said they are considering bringing up the issue again when they go back into session later this month.
During the emergency meeting of the Committee of 10, top Democrats and Republicans along with ranking members of the Public Health Committee, had two choices, either vote to extend or abolish all of the orders.
"It’s quite simple. I’s an election year. People want to try to compare and contrast. We should be comparing and contrasting how well we are doing to other states as opposed to what powers a governor currently has, Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz said.
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There’s a 72-hour window from the moment the governor signs the orders, which means action had to be taken by the 2 p.m. Friday deadline or the orders automatically extend.
Republican lawmakers have complained that Democrats are giving the governor free reign.
"Right now, the governor has the ability to make the decisions about almost everything that goes on in the state -- public health issues, economic issues, election issues -- everything and anything that we can do in the state. The governor has the ability to do that on his own," State Rep. Themis Klarides said.
The meeting of the legislative leaders started at 8 a.m. in the Legislative Office Building and went until around 10 a.m.
