New Jersey Governor Arbitrarily Declares COVID-19 Emergency After Senate Declines to Vote on Extension

Senate President Steve Sweeney winks at someone before the start of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's budget address in Trenton, N.J. on Feb. 25, 2020. Seth Wenig/AP Photo

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy extended the state’s COVID-19 emergency on Tuesday after the state Senate speaker declined to schedule voting on a bill extending it for 45 days.

On Monday, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, announced that a bill to extend the governor’s emergency powers in response to COVID-19 would not be voted that day, the final day of voting in the lame-duck legislative session.