As an effort to end California’s state of emergency recently failed in a senate committee hearing, Republican lawmakers are arguing that extending the state of emergency is now unjustified and hurting people’s livelihoods when most of the COVID-19-related mandates enacted without the state legislature’s approval are waning. “Regrettably, my SCR 5 [Senate Concurrent Resolution 5] to end the State of Emergency failed to pass [on March 15],” Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) wrote on Twitter. “The Democrat majority is content to abdicate their responsibilities to the governor. The state of emergency will continue, as will the governor’s power to close schools and shut down businesses.” Since March 4, 2020, the state of emergency granted the governor authority to overstep all state lawmakers, with the ability to “make, amend, and rescind” laws, according to California Emergency Services Act. “The governor has slowly begun to peel back mandates, indicating that the need …