Whitmer vetoes bill that would have reopened some businesses soonerMLive (Grand Rapids), May 5, 2020
As promised, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed legislation that would have shortened the length of some of her executive orders.
Senate Bill 858 would have amended Michigan’s Emergency Management Act of 1976, laying out deadlines for when some of Whitmer’s executive orders would end. Notably, it would have allowed restaurants, bars, gyms and other public-facing businesses to open May 15 with social distancing measures in place.
The bill originally included a stipulation to shorten the amount of time a governor can call for a state of emergency without needing legislative approval, from 28 days to 14 days. That provision wasn’t in the final version approved by the legislature.
In her veto letter, Whitmer said the bill goes against recommendations from public health officials, it doesn’t allow governors to properly address disasters or emergencies and would be useless now anyway since the bill as passed wouldn’t take effect until next year.
“I will not sign any bills that constrain my ability to protect the people of Michigan from a deadly pandemic in a timely manner,†Whitmer wrote.
Whitmer and the legislature are entangled in a debate about the governor’s emergency powers, since a 1945 law allows governors to call for a state of emergency for as long as necessary, while the 1976 law limits it to 28 days. Whitmer has said lawmakers in 1976 would have made the 1945 law inactive if that’s what they intended.
Whitmer called for a 28-day state of emergency on March 10, the day the first COVID-19 cases were reported in the state. The legislature later approved an extension through April 30.
When the legislature declined to extend the emergency further, Whitmer extended it on her own through May 28 – citing both the 1945 and 1976 laws. Both the house and senate voted to give leadership the go-ahead to sue Whitmer over this.
"The governor is choosing to consolidate all authority in state government for herself, setting in motion a constitutional crisis in Michigan," said State Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, in a news release. Barrett introduced the bill Whitmer vetoed.
More:
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/05/whitmer-vetoes-bill-that-would-have-reopened-some-businesses-sooner.html
