Legislature sues to block Whitmer’s virus orders
Lawsuit alleges ‘patent disregard for the law,’ violation of separation of powers
LANSING» The Republican-led Michigan Legislature sued Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday, asking a judge to declare invalid and unenforceable her stay-athome order and other measures issued to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed in the state Court of Claims, says a 1945 law that gives the governor broad emergency powers to order such restrictions governs local, not statewide, declarations like one that has been in place since March. A 1976 law gives Whitmer emergency authority only for a limited period that expired when the House and Senate did not extend her emergency and disaster declarations last week, according to the suit that alleges a “patent disregard for the law” and a violation of the separation of powers.
The stay-home directive is in place at least through May 15 and generally requires people to shelter in place except to do critical jobs, exercise outdoors and buy groceries or other
items. An order closing places of public accommodation and limiting restaurants to pickup and delivery is in effect through May 28.
“We’ve got a governor that’s acting in ways in which there’s no representation and no voice in any decision making. It’s our responsibility, quite frankly, to ensure that that trajectory changes,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, a Clarklake Republican, told reporters.
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, a Levering Republican, said “people are hurting and we need to take action now to ensure that their livelihoods are restored, to ensure that they have a voice at the table, because right now they don’t.”
Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown called the suit a “partisan game.”
“Her No. 1 priority is saving lives. She’s making decisions based on science and data, not political or legal pressure,” she said.
Asked earlier this week about lawmakers’ contention that there must be checks and balances on the executive branch, the governor said she was “happy to work with the Legislature.
Ideally, we all get on the same page here. But what I can’t do is negotiate like this is a political issue. This is a public health issue.”
More than 4,200 people in Michigan have died of complications from COVID-19, the lung disease caused by the new coronavirus. The state on Wednesday reported 71 additional COVID-19 deaths and 657 new cases, bringing its total cases to roughly 45,000, including 5,100 in long-term care facilities and prisons. The number of infections is thought to be far higher.