Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Oct. 5.
Update from the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber. Links for this communication are located on this page: https://conta.cc/30B3sXW
October 5, 2020: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? CURRENT INFORMATION ON ORDERS AND GUIDELINES FOLLOWING STATE SUPREME COURT STRIKING DOWN GOVERNOR'S EMERGENCY POWERS
On Friday, October 2, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Governor Whitmer had overstepped her constitutional authority, striking down the Governor's emergency powers relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor has been issuing executive orders under the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act (EPGA), which a split Michigan Supreme Court (MSC) said violates the Constitution because it purports to indefinitely delegate legislative power to the executive branch. The court also agreed unanimously to the part of a 48-page opinion from Justice Stephen Markman that held the Governor lacked the authority to declare states of emergency or disaster under the 1976 Emergency Management Act (EMA) after the Legislature said no on April 30. More information on the ruling is provided by MIRS News Service HERE.
"Accordingly, the executive orders issued by the governor in response to the COVID-19 pandemic now lack any basis under Michigan law," Justice Stephen Markman wrote in the majority opinion.
As we move forward from Friday's ruling, businesses and the workforce face many questions on how the State will proceed in the fight against COVID-19. Questions such as whether state regulators such as MIOSHA will enforce the executive orders and workplace safety guidelines, the continuation of expanded unemployment benefits, face covering mandates, and more.
As of Monday, October 5, the Whitmer administration announced that they are seeking clarification from the Michigan Supreme Court to declare that the ruling does not end the emergency orders until at least 21 days, or no later than 28 days have passed since the ruling, potentially October 30, at which the Governor's emergency powers and the executive orders instated since April 30, 2020 would end. As reported in the Detroit News, "Without the 28-day "transition," Michigan workers and their families could lose unemployment benefits and "critical measures meant to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus" would "immediately lapse," the governor's office said in a press release."
Attorney General Ends Enforcement of EOs
Original source can be found here.
Source: Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce
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