Michigan Supreme Court strikes down Gov. Whitmer's emergency powers
LANSING, Mich. _ The Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did not have authority after April 30 to issue or renew any executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic under the 1976 Emergency Management Act.
The court, in its 71-page ruling, also found Whitmer did not possess the authority to exercise emergency powers under the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act because the act violates the Michigan Constitution.
The ruling concluded the EPGA violated the Michigan Constitution because it delegated to the executive branch the legislative powers of state government and allowed the executive branch to exercise those powers indefinitely.
" ... the Governor only possessed the authority or obligation to declare a state of emergency or state of disaster once and then had to terminate that declaration when the Legislature did not authorize an extension; the Governor possessed no authority to redeclare the same state of emergency or state of disaster and thereby avoid the Legislature's limitation on her authority," the ruling said.
The ruling said while the EPGA only allows the governor to declare a state of emergency when public safety is imperiled, "public-health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic can be said to imperil public safety."
_ The Detroit News
