California lawmakers on March 15 voted down a measure that would have ended the emergency powers Gov. Gavin Newsom has been wielding for over two years. Eight members of the California Senate Committee on Governmental Organization voted against the measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 5. Four members voted in favor. The measure, if approved, would end the state of emergency Newsom, a Democrat, proclaimed on March 4, 2020. As a result, the powers the proclamation opened up would be terminated. “An open-ended state of emergency, with boundless powers vested in a chief executive, is incompatible with democratic government,” the resolution states, adding that “It is critical that a proper balance be restored between the legislative and executive branches.” “It’s time for the state to allow local governments to take the lead and address emergencies locally without the shotgun approach of a statewide emergency,” state Sen. Melissa Melendez, a Republican who introduced the …