State agencies would not be able to renew emergency regulations without input from lawmakers in the Assembly and state Senate under a measure proposed Tuesday by Republican legislators.

The measure takes aim at the latest indoor mask requirement issued this month by Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration, which requires mask wearing indoors unless the business or public gathering space requires proof of vaccination to enter.

The guidance and mandate is part of an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the holiday season, as cases and hospitalizations have increased in recent weeks and as the highly contagious omicron variant could further increase the spread in yet another wave of the pandemic.

But some local governments and businesses have bristled at the mandate. Several county governments have said they will not enforce it. And Republicans in the Legislature want more input on how these orders are shaped.

"We should learn our lessons. One size does not fit all throughout New York State," said state Sen. Tom O'Mara. "Moving forward, I believe our responses would be more reasonable, fair, and, especially, effective with greater input from our local public health professionals and leaders on the front lines."

The measure addresses the administrative procedure law in New York, which allows an emergency regulation to be in effect for 90 days. State agencies can re-adopt regulations and extend them for up to 60 days without input from the Legislature or approval.

O'Mara's proposal would limit that power by requiring legislative approval for any extension of emergency regulations. And it would reduce the time period of these extensions from 60 days to 30 with approval from lawmakers.

“Instead of Albany-knows-best directives, we should be empowering local officials to act in the best interest of their communities. I applaud all of the local officials who have refused to enforce Governor Hochul’s half-baked directive," said Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt. "These officials are instead working to help expand public health resources, including more vaccination and testing sites."

Hochul has said enforcement of the mask-or-vaccinate rule is essentially up to county governments, but noted nearly three-fourths of the state's population as of Tuesday lived in an area that is enforcing the mandate.

The mandate is set to be in effect until Jan. 15, when it will be re-evaluated by state health officials.

"We have to take what, in contrast to the steps that had to be taken in the past, is truly a minor infringement," Hochul said on Tuesday. "Your children are already wearing masks. They're very adaptable. They're fine. At some point we'll be able to announce that time is over. We're not there yet."