GOP legislators in Michigan have abolished the law that allowed Democrat governor Gretchen Whitmer to continuously lock down the state since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
TheBlaze reports that the state House, which is led by the GOP, voted 60-48 Wednesday to repeal the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945, which granted Whitmer the authority she used in locking down Michigan indefinitely. The law gave extensive authority to governors in issuing emergency declarations and setting rules to “protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under control.”
The state Senate, also held by the GOP, voted 20-15 to repeal the law last week.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional last October.
Since the repeal proposal had been the result of a citizen-initiated campaign, Whitmer is powerless to veto it.
The citizen campaign that led the initiative to repeal the law, Unlock Michigan, celebrated the legislature’s vote. The group’s spokesman, Fred Wszolek, said that “[W]e're grateful to the members of the House and Senate who stood with the people of Michigan, and we're grateful for their help in repealing the misguided 1945 law that caused so much pain once and for all.”
House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, said in a statement that “They [Michigan residents] took strong action to protect their families, their children’s education and their ability to make ends meet, and we can never thank them enough. 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.”
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