Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he will relinquish the special powers that he has used to manage the COVID-19 pandemic by Aug. 1, ending a peacetime state of emergency that has been in effect since last March.

About three dozen states still have a state of emergency, Walz said, calling his plan the responsible way to close this up.

But that wasn’t assurance enough for Republicans who control the Minnesota Senate and complain that the Democratic governor has repeatedly cut them out of major pandemic decisions.

They approved a state government budget bill Friday that would end the state of emergency on July 1. The Democratic majority in the House has repeatedly blocked such moves.