(WWJ) The Michigan Legislature is vowing to lead the state through the pandemic after a State Supreme Court ruling determined Governor Gretchen Whitmer's usage of the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 is in violation of the Michigan constitution.
"It's been said the governor is in the best position to act quickly, and the Legislature is in the best position to act deliberately. That is how our entire system is designed to work," Lee Chatfield, Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, said in a statement.
Chatfield called the state's highest court ruling, with a 4 to 3 vote, "a giant win for the people of Michigan and for the democratic process."
He said the majority Republican State Legislature will work together with the Democrat governor to tailor the state's response to COVID-19.
House and Senate Republicans said they made several recommendations to the Governor's new executive orders, and changes to existing orders, including; clarifying which businesses count as spas, allowing hair salons and nail salons to remain open, protecting Houses of Worship from criminal prosecution if they perform services and exempting certain outdoor facilities from large gathering restrictions.
The Legislature also passed several statutory reforms. However, the House of Representatives said they were vetoed in favor of "unconstitutional executive orders." Those reforms include house bills addressing the Return To Learn Plan, nursing home improvements, healthcare worker liability and workplace reopening healthcare liability.
Related: Michigan Supreme Court: Whitmer exceeded her emergency powers amid COVID-19 pandemic
In a statement, Governor Whitmer called the ruling "deeply disappointing" and said she "vehemently disagreed with the court's interpretation of the Michigan Constitution."
She said her orders will remain in effect for at least 21 days and retain the "force of law" in the meantime. MLIVE reports a spokesperson for her office said this timeline stems from a Supreme Court rule that puts all decisions into effect in that time period.
Whitmer said some of the orders she put in place will remain in effect under "alternative sources of authority that were not at issue in the ruling." She has issued and signed over 180 Executive Orders since the start of the pandemic.
The following is a complete list of recommendations the State Legislature made to the Governor's new and existing executive orders.
- "EO 2020-8 (price gouging)
- Prevent unintended consequences like expiring sales prices regular market price changes from qualifying as price gouging.
- More accurately target the order to address actual gouging practices that hurt consumers instead of normal retail transactions above a certain size.
- EO 2020-9 (public accommodations)
- Clarify unclear language on what counts as a spa, allowing nails salons, hair salons and cosmetology studios to remain open. Statewide, those small businesses employ nearly 100,000 licensed professionals.
- Exempt outdoor facilities whose closure creates difficulty without helping to stop the spread of the illness.
- EO 2020-11 (large gatherings)
- Clarify that houses of worship are not subject to criminal prosecution for performing services.
- EO 2020-15 (Open Meetings Act)
- Suspend the legal requirement that school boards meet with the public in person every month while schools are closed.
- EO 2020-47 (commercial drivers' licenses)
- Ease requirements for former commercial truck drivers to come back to work to help secure the supply chain."
Below is a list of statutory changes that the Michigan House and Senate passed, but were vetoed.
