Gov. Gavin Newsom is slowly unwinding mandates and decrees aimed at addressing the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s about time, but kudos to him for doing so.

On Monday, it was announced that the state would “strongly recommend” but no longer mandate the wearing of masks by anyone, including people not vaccinated against COVID-19, in most indoor settings. It was also noted that masks would no longer be required in schools after March 11. “Masks are an effective tool to minimize spread of the virus and future variants, especially when transmission rates are high,” Newsom said in a statement. “We cannot predict the future of the virus, but we are better prepared for it and will continue to take measures rooted in science to keep California moving forward.”

That’s right.

Most Californians are vaccinated and most adults have taken a booster dose. Many others have recovered from COVID-19. Treatments and best practices continue to emerge for handling COVID-19.  We are well beyond the time when top-down mandates were justifiable, which is something to be proud of.

Newsom’s announcement comes just days after it was announced Newsom was slowly lifting orders imposed by way of the emergency powers he invoked two years ago.

This month, a proposal by Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, to terminate the governor’s state of emergency will be taken up in committee.

It is long past time for the California Legislature to assert its powers and restore the balance of power in state government. If the orders the governor has issued are indeed necessary and just, the Legislature should work with the governor accordingly.

“The deliberative legislative and regulatory processes that the governor considers an impediment to necessary orders are, in fact, the protection of the rights of all Californians from arbitrary government actions,” this editorial board warned in June 2021.

It has been obvious for a while now — and certainly underscored by the fact that tens of thousands of maskless fans could be in attendance of events like the Super Bowl without issue  — that we are no longer facing an emergency.

It’s time to tackle this pandemic without the arbitrary centralization of power.