Mich. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer arrives to speak at Beech Woods Recreation Center in Southfield, Mich. on October 16, 2020. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:38 PM PT – Saturday, July 24, 2021
Michigan state lawmakers voted to repeal a decades-old law which gave Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer the authority to impose COVID restrictions. In a 60 to 48 vote on Thursday, the state’s House of Representatives passed a bill scrapping the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945.
The State Senate has already approved the legislation last week and it will now go into effect 91 days after the legislature ends its session.
“Hundreds of thousands of our families, friends and neighbors changed Michigan forever when they decided they had enough and stood up to make a difference,” said Rep. Jason Wentworth (R-Mich.). “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.”
The bill stems from an initiative to repeal the law by a group called Unlock Michigan, which was backed by more than 540,000 Michiganders. Under state law, Whitmer is unable to veto the legislation given it originated from a petition push.
The Michigan House approved the Unlock Michigan citizens’ initiative to repeal the unconstitutional 1945 state law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used to hold unilateral power over the people of Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your voices have been heard! pic.twitter.com/gXJtMLIVmp
— MI House Republicans (@MI_Republicans) July 21, 2021
