MORRIS COUNTY — On Monday Governor Phil Murphy announced that we should expect to see children wearing masks at school in the fall. Assemblyman Brian Bergen called the announcement a “joke.”
In a session of the state Assembly on May 20, Bergen put Democrats on notice to start doing their jobs and stop acting as the governor’s “lapdog.”
“I think the governor is dreaming if he plans to have the unilateral authority to mask our children in schools this fall,” said Bergen (R-Morris). “If he does have that much authority, and our state Legislature is still sitting on their hands, I would be shocked. I mean, how long can Democrats in the legislature tolerate being completely irrelevant?”
Bergen introduced legislation to rein in the governor’s executive order authority. His bill (A4147) would require legislative oversight and would force all executive orders to expire after 14 days without an extension granted by the Legislature. It has been brought up for votes three times in the Assembly and twice in the Senate, each time voted down by the Democrats.
“Let’s be clear, if the governor is still acting unilaterally in the fall, then there is no one else to blame besides the Assembly and Senate Democrats. More specifically, the leadership in both houses.”
Bergen has also indicated he is tired of those responsible hiding behind their party.
“It’s time we name the individuals who are making these bad decisions and hold them directly accountable. Enough of the generalizations. We know who they are and we need to hold their feet to the fire at every opportunity.”
