Conservative Brief:
The Michigan legislature has ended a law that gave Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer unprecedented power during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision came after the Michigan Supreme Court decided that the powers granted to the governor were unconstitutional.
The Detroit Free Press reported:
A 76-year-old Michigan law crafted in the wake of Detroit race riots and used more recently to combat a generational health crisis is officially dead.
The Republican-controlled state House on Wednesday voted 60-48 largely along party lines in support of initiative petition language that repeals the Emergency Powers Act of 1945. The vote came one week after the state Senate also approved the initiative.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used the law to issue sweeping health and safety restrictions in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, moves that eventually garnered pushback from Republicans and other opponents.
“Hundreds of thousands of our families, friends, and neighbors changed Michigan forever when they decided they had enough and stood up to make a difference,” Republican Speaker Jason Wentworth said.
“They deserve a state government that is willing to do the same. They’ve earned that much. That’s why we had their back today and put this petition into law,” he said.
Democrats were against the repeal of the law saying that the law is needed and that the voters should be asked as a question on the ballot.
The law will take effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends because the House voted for it to take effect immediately but the Senate did not.
The House voted on Wednesday with a vote of 60-48 and the Senate approved it on July 15 with a vote of 20-15.
