Michigan Gov. Whitmer stripped of emergency powers

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[–] • 0 pt

Why again did they give this dumb cunt those powers in the first place?

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[–] • 2 pts

(edited )

The citizens of Michigan did not give her these powers. In Michigan there was this 1945 law which gave the Governor powers to declare an emergency. The intent was to give the governor the ability to set rules and react to a situation until the legislature could convene and decide how to address whatever the emergency was. The previous governor to Whitmer and the corresponding legislature enacted a similarly designed law meant to modernize the 1945 law. The newer law was limited to 30 days of emergency declaration. The governor could not extend the emergency declaration without the approval of the legislature after the 30 days.

When Covid hit, Whitmer declared an emergency to shut everything down. When the 30 days ended, the legislature wanted to start opening things back up. She decided that she was using the older 1945 law, which did not have a specified time limit on the emergency declarations, and continued to extend the emergency declarations without the legislature. The legislature eventually had to sue the governor. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the governor had violated the new law and the old law. At that point, the governor could no longer extend the state of emergency of her own authority. However, the 1945 law allowed the governor appointed health secretary to declare health emergencies. So the governor started directing the health secretary to keep the emergency going. The legislature passed a bill to repeal the 1945 law in its entirety. She vetoed it.

In Michigan the state constitution allows the citizens to basically write a law and gather signatures, circumventing the legislature and the governor. A group got together and gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to repeal the 1945 law. The Michigan Supreme Court just recently ruled that the petition was valid and had to be sent to the legislature. Once a citizen's petition has been certified to be valid, the legislature has two options, vote on the petition and enact it or pass a law that is substantially similar. The legislature just voted to pass the petition and now the governor can no longer declare emergencies for longer than 30 days without the permission of the legislature, nor can the governor use his/her underlings to keep it going.

The citizens of Michigan did not give her these powers. In Michigan there was this 1945 law which gave the Governor powers to declare an emergency. The intent was to give the governor the ability to set rules and react to a situation until the legislature could convene and decide how to address whatever the emergency was. The previous governor to Whitmer and the corresponding legislature enacted a similarly designed law meant to modernize the 1945 law. The newer law was limited to 30 days of emergency declaration. The governor could not extend the emergency declaration without the approval of the legislature after the 30 days. When Covid hit, Whitmer declared an emergency to shut everything down. When the 30 days ended, the legislature wanted to start opening things back up. She decided that she was using the older 1945 law, which did not have a specified time limit on the emergency declarations, and continued to extend the emergency declarations without the legislature. The legislature eventually had to sue the governor. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the governor had violated the new law and the old law. At that point, the governor could no longer extend the state of emergency of her own authority. However, the 1945 law allowed the governor appointed health secretary to declare health emergencies. So the governor started directing the health secretary to keep the emergency going. The legislature passed a bill to repeal the 1945 law in its entirety. She vetoed it. In Michigan the state constitution allows the citizens to basically write a law and gather signatures, circumventing the legislature and the governor. A group got together and gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to repeal the 1945 law. The Michigan Supreme Court just recently ruled that the petition was valid and had to be sent to the legislature. Once a citizen's petition has been certified to be valid, the legislature has two options, vote on the petition and enact it or pass a law that is substantially similar. The legislature just voted to pass the petition and now the governor can no longer declare emergencies for longer than 30 days without the permission of the legislature, nor can the governor use his/her underlings to keep it going.

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