By Bill Wichert

Law360 (June 3, 2021, 8:28 PM EDT) -- The New Jersey Legislature signed off Thursday on a fast-tracked bill to lift most executive orders signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in response to the coronavirus pandemic, while leaving certain restrictions alone through the end of the year, with Democrats hailing the measure as pragmatic and Republicans blasting it for continuing the governor's "one-man rule."

Two days after the legislation was introduced and without holding any committee hearings on its provisions, the state Assembly and the state Senate passed A.B. 5820 — which Murphy is expected to sign into law Friday — outlining the scope of COVID-19 mitigation measures amid plans to end the coronavirus public health emergency declaration in the state.

The bill cleared the Assembly and Senate by votes of 44-28 and 21-16, respectively, following heated debates over the governor's handling of a crisis that has led to more than 23,000 deaths and devastated businesses in the Garden State, although public health conditions have improved as more New Jerseyans have gotten vaccinated.

One of the bill's sponsors, Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti, D-Hudson, noted during the Assembly session that "as we move to a new norm, it is important to make sure that we remember just how challenging the past year has been."

"This bill offers a reasonable and pragmatic approach to ending the health emergency," Chiaravalloti said.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, added during the Senate session, "We in the Legislature are taking back our prerogative to end the public health emergency on this carefully prescribed list."

The senator added that "it is the beginning of the ending of the emergency orders and returning New Jersey to some normal rhythm of life."

But Sen. Michael L. Testa Jr., R-Cape May, said the bill "does very little but guarantee that one-man rule will continue in the state of New Jersey."

"The public health emergency will continue. The secrecy and lack of transparency will continue. The government by executive order will continue and the mask mandates for our children will continue," Testa told his colleagues.

The legislation would end the public health emergency "in name only," added Sen. Steven V. Oroho, R-Sussex. The measure would allow Murphy's executive orders to remain in place until next year, including the "unnecessary" mandate that children wear masks "when they face very little risk," Oroho said.

The bill also "perpetuates Gov. Murphy's authority to spend billions in federal relief funds without any legislative oversight whatsoever," Oroho added.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, countered during the session by saying such federal dollars would be addressed in the state budget and that mask-wearing guidelines for children come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Do we want to ignore the CDC?" said Sweeney, later adding, "Now hopefully things get better and they continue to get better and those masks [guidelines] will be lifted by the CDC."

With the bill, the Legislature is "ending something that the governor could continue to do every 30 days," according to Sweeney.

"We're ending the health ... emergency and I'll be honest with you: I don't want to be responsible for vaccines," Sweeney said. "I don't think the Legislature should be responsible for testing and vaccines."

The passage of the legislation comes less than a month after Murphy, Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, announced plans to let the public health emergency declaration expire as long as such a bill was enacted beforehand.

Murphy — a Democrat who is seeking a second term this year — initially declared the public health emergency at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and has renewed it every month since then. In response to the emergency, the governor has issued a series of executive orders imposing restrictions aimed at combating the spread of COVID-19.

The bill states that nearly all the more than 100 executive orders would expire 30 days after the effective date of the legislation, except about a dozen directives that would remain in effect until Jan. 1. Those remaining executive orders include a moratorium on removing residents via evictions or foreclosure proceedings.

Another outstanding executive order granted civil immunity to health care workers and facilities in connection with the pandemic, but the bill holds that the immunity under that directive and related measures would expire Sept. 1. After then, civil immunity would continue "only for individuals specifically engaged in vaccinations or testing related to COVID-19," the bill says.

The bill also prohibits Murphy from imposing requirements on masks and social distancing that are more stringent than CDC guidelines "unless a substantial increase in hospitalizations, substantially increased spot positivity or rate of transmission above 1 necessitates a modification that would be more restrictive."

After the public health emergency declaration ends, the governor would still be able to issue directives under the bill to address certain issues, including "vaccination distribution, administration and management" and "COVID-19 testing." That authority would last until Jan. 11 unless the governor seeks a 90-day extension.

Following Thursday's votes, Murphy, Sweeney and Coughlin issued a joint statement on the bill, saying that "ending New Jersey's COVID-19 public health emergency is one of the most significant steps we have taken in our recovery efforts to date."

The measure ensures that the Murphy administration "has the tools and flexibility necessary to continue vaccination and testing efforts, ensure protections for vulnerable populations and oversee and coordinate the health care system to address this ongoing threat," according to the statement.

"By working together, we are facing the challenges ahead and meeting the needs of the over 9 million residents who have bravely battled the worst pandemic in a century together," the statement said.

--Editing by Stephen Berg.

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