The Michigan Senate on Thursday approved the Unlock Michigan citizen-led petition to repeal the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act.
The vote came two days after the Board of State Canvassers certified the petition’s signatures.
“The past year fighting the coronavirus has taught us that we all face challenges like these together,” said Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton. “Yet Gov. Gretchen Whitmer went rogue, going it alone and abusing her office to make unconstitutional orders endangering children’s education and the financial safety and economic well-being of the very people she claimed to be protecting, making a bad situation even worse.
“Thankfully, the people have a voice and today it is being heard. Over half a million Michiganders utilized the very constitution the governor ignored to say enough is enough with the Unlock Michigan petition. They are right, and I enthusiastically voted to approve the petition to ensure that no governor can ever again abuse the office like Gov. Whitmer did. This is a great day for the people of Michigan and for our constitutional republic.”
Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s subsequent emergency orders issued after her initial 28-day order were unconstitutional.
Prior to the court ruling, Whitmer vetoed Senate legislation that would have limited a governor’s emergency powers without legislative approval.
The Unlock Michigan petition now goes to the House of Representatives for approval.
The governor has no authority to veto or otherwise block the petition if approved by both chambers of the Legislature.
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