LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s attorney general on Tuesday backed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and told local law enforcement officials that her stay-at-home directive and restrictions on places of public accommodations are valid and enforceable despite Republican lawmakers’ refusal to extend an emergency declaration last week.
Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said her letter was necessary to clarify the situation after numerous legislators and other officials questioned the validity of the Democratic governor’s orders to curb the coronavirus. The measures, Nessel said, were a “valid exercise” of Whitmer’s broad emergency powers under a 1945 law.
Nessel’s letter was the latest step in what has become a partisan fight over the governor’s authority to act unilaterally in a pandemic. The GOP-led Legislature, which wants more input on reopening businesses and lifting other restrictions, appears likely to sue.
A 1976 law says lawmakers are needed to extend states of disaster or emergency. But it also says it should not be construed to limit a governor’s authority to proclaim an emergency under the 1945 law, which requires no legislative extension.
Nessel said the continued restrictions are necessary and reasonable to secure public health.
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