State Sen. Givhan on Ivey executive action: ‘It is not what the governor has done — My problem is how long does this emergency last?’

Governor Kay Ivey’s decision to exercise emergency powers last week to extend the expiration date on economic incentive packages and waive tax liabilities on CARES Act benefits tested the limits of her powers under the pandemic state of emergency.

While some have applauded Ivey’s willingness to act where she has seen it as necessary, a handful of lawmakers are starting to question the boundaries of the seemingly indefinite state of emergency.

During an interview that aired on Monday on Mobile radio’s FM Talk 106.5, State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) spoke approvingly of Ivey’s actions but predicted the state legislature would make an effort to put in place checks on executive powers in states of emergency.

“[I] think there was consensus for doing those issues,” he said of Ivey’s moves on economic development and taxation. “My problem is that it is not what the governor has done. My problem is how long does this emergency last? And who gets to decide? Obviously, apparently — it’s the governor. Now, we can argue about mask mandates and the shutdown and stuff like that. Pat Dye used to say hindsight is 50/50. We can revisit whether some of those decisions helped or not, but we didn’t know what we were dealing with, and I think she did the best that she could under the circumstances. And so, I’m not going to cast stones, as I didn’t have to make those decisions. It’s easiest sometimes as a Monday morning quarterback to go back and criticize.”

“Generally, I don’t have a problem with what she has done under these emergency powers because they have not been bad things,” Givhan continued. “The problem is that we have to be thinking about what if it is not our gal making those decisions, or our guy making those decisions? I mean, just because they make some that we want — I think that we have got to put this in check. And I think you will see at least the Senate, and I understand probably the House as well, will be looking to bring these powers into check because again — it’s not what she’s done. So, I am not being critical of anything the governor has done here in this line of thought. But I do think that when what I’ve heard from other people is they don’t like the way some of these emergency orders have been handled from a policy standpoint. They want the legislature to basically put that in check because we are more accountable. They can reach out and touch us a lot easier than they can touch the executive.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.