SB0005 provides that a local order may not be more stringent or broader in aspect than an executive order issued by the state during a declared emergency without the approval of the local legislative body. It also allows a local order to be less stringent than an executive order issued by the state to the extent permitted by the executive order.
The Senate passed SB0005 on February 8, 2021, by a vote of 40 to 8. We have assigned pluses to the yeas because oversight of state and local emergency powers is a proper function of the respective legislative bodies of government within a system of checks and balances. Each state, under Article IV, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution, is guaranteed a republican form of government, which requires a limitation and separation of powers.