Michigan Supreme Court strikes down governor's continued state of emergency
Michigan Supreme Court strikes
down governor's continued state of emergency
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) does
not have the authority to continue the state of emergency in Michigan.
The court said neither the
Emergency Management Act from 1976 nor the Emergency Powers of the
Governor Act from 1945 dictate how states of emergency are declared and handled
in Michigan, and that Whitmer does not have the power to continue the state of
emergency under either law. Therefore, Whitmer did not have the authority to
extend her initial state of emergency past April 30, when it was set
to expire.
Whitmer had extended the state of
emergency to the end of April by executive order after the Republican-led state
legislature moved forward with a bill preventing her from renewing the original
declaration during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We conclude that the Governor
lacked the authority to declare a ‘state of emergency’ or a ‘state of disaster’
under the EMA after April 30, 2020, on the basis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, we conclude that the EPGA is in violation of the Constitution of
our state because it purports to delegate to the executive branch the
legislative powers of state government— including its plenary police powers—
and to allow the exercise of such powers indefinitely," wrote Justice
Stephen Markman in the
majority opinion.
“As a consequence, the EPGA
cannot continue to provide a basis for the Governor to exercise emergency
powers," he added.
The ruling comes after a U.S.
district judge found that a federal case needed additional input from the
states over Whitmer’s authority. The case was initially brought by four
Michigan medical providers and a patient seeking a knee surgery in May, when
the state of emergency banned elective procedures.
Still, the Friday ruling leaves
Whitmer with an array of options, including possibly issuing a state of
emergency under different laws.
“Our decision leaves open many
avenues for the Governor and Legislature to work together to address this
challenge and we hope that this will take place,” reads a footnote in the
ruling.
Whitmer panned the decision Friday, saying the state of
emergency was necessary to protect Michiganders.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling,
handed down by a narrow majority of Republican justices, is deeply
disappointing, and I vehemently disagree with the court’s interpretation of the
Michigan Constitution," she
said in a statement. "Right now, every state and the
federal government have some form of declared emergency. With this decision,
Michigan will become the sole outlier at a time when the Upper Peninsula is
experiencing rates of COVID infection not seen in our state since April."
Michigan currently has had nearly 140,000
confirmed coronavirus cases, and over 7,100 people have died in the
state.
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