California Governor Gavin Newsom‘s decision to extend emergency powers through March has sparked public criticism.
Newsom issued an executive order on Wednesday to extend the state of emergency in California that was first applied in March 2020, citing COVID threats.
The order provides access to emergency resources for state and health authorities, according to the Deadline.
California legislator Kevin Kiley said on Friday on Twitter that the continuous state of emergency “is completely lawless.”
His decision to extend emergency powers also sparked criticism on social media.
“There is no data to back this extension. California has one of the lowest infection rates in the country at 0.22 per 100,000. These Emergency powers must be reined in!” one person wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
In a blog post published recently, Kiley accused the governor of “claiming sole authority to control people’s lives through a ‘state of emergency.'”