My friend from Southfield stood up and said rational people are taking care of this. I guess that means we shouldn’t worry our pretty little heads; that this is all being taken care of. This is being taken care of by one person and one person alone who’s planning to save lives—like we couldn’t—like we couldn’t help in the decision. I had another colleague just stand up and say “we should be here writing laws that protect citizens instead of this bill,” but we’re not allowed to because it’s being taken care of for us.
When the people were given the formal task of self-governance they set themselves up with a well-defined system of creating laws. The people own this government. They deserve a say in it. We are their say. There are governments around this world that vest all the power and authority of government into one person. Those are not called democracies and those are not called republics. We have a responsibility, as a co-equal branch of government, to share in the solutions to all the problems that Michigan faces, including this crisis itself. If my colleagues are unwilling to participate in this particular system of democracy we have—if you want to leave or yield all of your authority and your power to one person—then you shouldn’t be here in the first place. You swore an oath to protect the citizens, not to yield your authority.
Senator Barrett’s statement is as follows:
The bill before us today is uncomplicated. It simply restores the constitutional order to our state and removes any doubt as to the actions allowed by each branch of government. All of us, regardless of political stripe or affiliation, or no affiliation at all, should be gravely concerned that any Governor would claim authority to seize unilateral control of state government for as long as he or she chooses. There are systems of government in the world—and I’ve been to some of them—that provide total authority to one person. Thankfully, the state of Michigan is not one of them. Our framers correctly realized that the pursuit of power was a vice to be safeguarded against. A recent, unconscionable example of this is a no-bid contract placing private citizens’ individual health care under the control of a partisan, political data-mining firm. I realize that none of my colleagues on the other side even made mention of that. The remedy to this is what our Founders created—to establish checks and balances with branches of government co-equal, not subordinate to one another.
But don’t take my word for it. The Michigan Constitution is clear. Article I, section 1: “ All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal benefit, security and protection.” The protection of the rights of the people. Article III, section 2: “The powers of government are divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. No person exercising powers of one branch shall exercise powers properly belonging to another branch.” Now, I’ll fully acknowledge and admit to you today that I was a little rusty on my public acts from 1945 when I walked in the door to this chamber. But for the benefit of those at home, I’ll recap some of the highlights. There are two emergency powers statutes in Michigan. Public Act No. 302 of 1945, which this bill seeks to repeal, allows the Governor to declare a state of emergency under the following circumstances: “disaster, rioting, catastrophe, or similar public emergency within the state.” Nothing in the statute prohibits the Governor from declaring a state of emergency that extends for the entirety of their term of office, relegating the place of the Legislature entirely moot in any of that decision. Public Act No. 390 of 1976, however, designates a state of disaster meaning an “occurrence or threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from a natural or human-made cause” including an epidemic, the exact situation we’re facing right now. That law clearly lays out a timeline under which the Governor must receive an extension from the Legislature. It is crystal-clear that Public Act No. 390 of 1976—which provides a firm timeline for the Governor—applies to the crisis related to the coronavirus outbreak in Michigan. It is clear that the Governor requires the consent of the Legislature to continue emergency powers. This bill removes any doubt as to the proper roles of government in our state. We can both grieve the loss of life and still protect our system of government. Those two are not mutually exclusive.
You want to talk about sanctity of life? I’m glad you brought that up. You think it’s perfectly acceptable to rip a baby in half and call it life-sustaining, but not necessary for preventive medicine. We know of people denied chemotherapy, people who have been denied pacemakers. I know of someone who went into the hospital with chest pain but they waited at home for so long, that by the time they arrived they died shortly after. I’ve walked a few hardships and I’ve been a few places that I hope none of you have to go to in your life. If I don’t have the standing in this chamber to stand up and talk about that, then I don’t know who does. It’s a false choice that we cannot grieve the loss of others and work on appropriate legislation at the same time. Our work here should not be relegated as insignificant, simply because we think it will be hard or that we think we’ll have disagreement, or that others might think we’re arguing too much. Governing is hard. It’s supposed to be hard. Making laws is supposed to be hard. It should be.
Stand with me in defense of our Constitution. Vote “yes” on Senate Bill No. 857.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 858, entitled
A bill to amend 1976 PA 390, entitled “Emergency management act,” by amending section 3 (MCL 30.403), as amended by 2002 PA 132.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: