Conservative Group's Petition Targets MI Public Health Orders

LANSING, MI — The emergency powers of Michigan's health department are the target of a new petition effort being launched by Unlock Michigan, a conservative group that successfully gathered enough signatures to repeal a 75-year-old law used by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 to issue executive orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The group's latest effort would require legislative approval to extend emergency orders during a pandemic beyond 28 days, The Associated Press reported.

"We’re assuming that there’s a majority in the Legislature as frustrated as we are that the governor is finding every way possible not to govern as she should,” Unlock Michigan spokesman Fred Wszolek told The Detroit News.

Related: Whitmer's Emergency Powers Have Been Struck Down. Now What?

Last year, Unlock Michigan was able to gather enough voter signatures to repeal a 75-year-old-law cited by the Whitmer administration as it issued executive orders during the coronavirus pandemic. The law was later ruled unconstitutional.

The Whitmer administration continued to issue executive orders through the powers of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services under a 1978 law giving the state's health director authorities to do so.

But that law would be revised under the new measure, which would require the legislature to OK any extension on an order after 28 days. The Associated Press reported that local health officers looking to impose restrictions also would need the approval of their local governing body.

The initiative announced Monday comes shortly after the Michigan Board of Canvassers was essentially told via court order to certify a prior Unlock Michigan initiative repealing the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act.

Once certified, that initiative is expected to be adopted by the Michigan Legislature as opposed to being approved by voters, The Detroit News reported.