{"id":2917,"date":"2020-10-27T14:51:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T14:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peoriamag.com\/?p=2917"},"modified":"2020-12-14T14:53:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T14:53:46","slug":"michigan-senate-approves-bill-that-would-limit-public-health-orders-to-28-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peoriamag.com\/?p=2917","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Senate approves bill that would limit public health orders to 28 days"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Michigan Senate approved a bill capping public health emergency orders to a 28-day timeline, which would mirror the time restriction imposed on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s executive orders.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 1253, sponsored by Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton, would amend the state\u2019s Public Health Code to make emergency orders by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon valid for only 28 days. He or a future director could request extensions of orders through legislative approval.<\/p>\n

The bill was approved 22-16\u00a0<\/b>during the Senate\u2019s session on Thursday, Dec. 10. It moves to the Michigan House of Representatives for further approval, which is\u00a0scheduled to meet next week for its last three days of lame duck.<\/p>\n

Should the Republican-led House approve the bill, it would move to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for signing. Enactment is unlikely, as Whitmer has leaned on Gordon\u2019s public health orders to limit public gatherings in an effort to prevent disease spread.<\/p>\n

The bill would be retroactive, meaning that if signed, Gordon\u2019s orders would cease immediately.<\/p>\n

Democratic senators tried to amend Senate Bill 1253 prior to the vote, leading to heated partisan debate on the Senate floor. Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, called the bill an \u201cunconstitutional legislative veto.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur constitution is clear: All legislation must be by bill,\u201d he said. \u201cIt must be presented to the Governor to be signed into law. Instead, this bill would allow legislators to exercise authority reserved for the executive branch.<\/p>\n

Theis said the Michigan Supreme Court \u201ccouldn\u2019t have been more clear\u201d when they removed Whitmer\u2019s emergency powers, adding that the court ordered Whitmer and the legislature to work together.<\/p>\n

The amendment was shot down, as well as one by Sen. Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, that would have codified a mask mandate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would require face masks indoors, outdoors where distancing is impossible, while using public transit or rideshare services,\u201d she said. \u201cThis change will ensure we listen to our best scientists & better protect Michiganders.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In response to criticisms of Republican opposition to COVID-19 legislation, Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, blasted his Democratic peers and Whitmer for allowing the governor\u2019s to go it alone in fighting the pandemic and \u201crefusing to involve\u201d the legislature in the process.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe legislature has a constitutional obligation to pass laws in regards to the health and welfare of the people of this state,\u201d he said. \u201cI wish (Democrats) would also see that the powers of the state are vested into a House and a Senate. Powers that we have to pass legislation that have been thoroughly abrogated by the current administration. Appallingly abrogated. The very problem that this legislation seeks to address is that abrogation, that emasculation, that neutering that has happened to the legislature.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, quipped that any \u201cneutering\u201d was done by Republicans to themselves.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAll I\u2019ve heard for the last months is opposition,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Since the Supreme Court ruled that Whitmer could not indefinitely extend her emergency powers in October, Gordon has issued similar orders, including the\u00a0current partial shutdown\u00a0recently extended to Dec. 20. The order temporarily bans in-person learning at high schools, indoor service at restaurants and bars, group fitness classes, organized sports, theatres, bowling alleys, casinos and other indoor activities.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Whitmer\u2019s previous authority to declare emergency orders without a time restriction was derived from the 1976 Emergency Management Act and the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act. Rather than amend those acts, the Republican legislature sued Whitmer in court. The Supreme Court ruled that the acts conflicted on the time limit and found that her unilateral powers could only be active for 28 days.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Gordon\u2019s actions differ in legal basis, as they come from MCL Section 333.2253 (1), which states that if Gordon determines \u201cthat control of an epidemic is necessary to protect the public health, the director by emergency order may prohibit the gathering of people for any purpose and may establish procedures to be followed during the epidemic to insure continuation of essential public health services and enforcement of health laws.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Michigan Senate approved a bill capping public health emergency orders to a 28-day timeline, which would mirror…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMichigan Senate approves bill that would limit public health orders to 28 days - Lansing Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/peoriamag.com\/?p=2917\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michigan Senate approves bill that would limit public health orders to 28 days - 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