HOUGHTON — Efforts to protect Michiganders from the spread of COVID-19 have broken down into a battle along party lines between the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and other legislative Democrats, and the GOP-led legislature. The showdown occurred when both chambers denied the governor’s request for an extension of emergency powers while the coronavirus outbreak remains on-going, particularly in southeast Michigan. The governor’s emergency powers expired at 12:01 a.m., May 1. Before the expiration, Whitmer took unilateral action to extend her emergency power.

The hostility is playing out with a flurry of back-and-forth press releases that, when read carefully, have little to do with protecting Michiganders from the coronavirus.

While the coronavirus was the catalyst for the confrontation, based on the press releases, it appears the core question has become: who will govern Michigan: the three government branches equally, or, by all appearances, the governor, operating under the guise of emergency powers?

On April 30, the Michigan Republican website, migop.org, published a statement that stated in part:

“Today, the Michigan House and Senate voted on a series of bills with protections for price gouging, relaxing regulations for hospitals to set up field and testing sites, and orders that helped schools and education.”

Alongside the above statement, the release also mentioned, “Additionally, they voted on curbing Governor Whitmer’s executive powers.”

This post came after Whitmer’s office published a statement, titled: “After GOP Legislature Declares ‘Mission Accomplished’ on COVID-19, Governor Whitmer Signs New Executive Orders to Save Lives, Protect Michiganders: New orders effective through May 28, 2020.”

In truth, however, neither the House nor the Senate inferred or declared that the state of emergency has passed, according to a May 1 release from State Representative Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock.

Markkanen said that the House voted for a plan intended to “restore the normal balance of powers between the branches of state government and end the broad, unchecked control given to the governor during the state of emergency.”

Markkanen said that the Legislature opted not to take action to extend the emergency declaration, instead voting on a plan that would have put several of the virus-related executive orders into state law to ensure reasonable protections would continue to exist after the state of emergency ended.

“To ensure measures remain in place to protect public health and help families who have been hurt by the economic impact of the virus,” Markkanen’s release stated, “the House plan would have put some of the governor’s previous orders into state law with specific expiration dates. This included preventing employers from taking disciplinary action against any employee who elects to stay home from work because of COVID-19, expanded unemployment benefits and eligibility requirements, measures to prevent price gouging, and many others,” adding that the stay-at-home order and other orders prohibiting preventative medical procedures, dental work and veterinary services would have been allowed to expire under the House plan.”

Markkanen said he, and other members of the legislature, have heard countless concerns about many of the governor’s unilateral decisions in the past month – all made without input from the Legislature, “the elected representatives of the people.”

Whitmer, however, chose to ignore the decision of the legislature as according the statement from her office, she had signed a new emergency and disaster declaration, “using independent sources of statutory authority to make sure our health care workers and first responders have the tools they need to save lives and protect Michiganders.”

Those independent sources of statutory authority, Markkanen countered, are conflicting portions of state law (see Monday, May 4’s DMG article, “Executive-Legislative battle is one over which law to follow”).

Whitmer had said before the April 30 legislative decision to deny her extension request that the state of emergency will continue, regardless of legislative action. She said she believes she has other powers to respond to the crisis, and she does not need the approval of the legislature for an extension of emergency powers.

“While some members of the legislature might believe this crisis is over, common sense and all of the scientific data tells us we’re not out of the woods yet,” Whitmer is quoted as saying in her office’s statement. “By refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk. I’m not going to let that happen.”

GOP legislative leaders wanted to grant Whitmer “two one-week extensions in exchange for a public agreement that all future stay-at-home-type orders (and only those) be enacted through bipartisan legislation and the democratic process rather than executive order,” State Sen. Shirkey’s chief of staff, Jeremy Henges, is quoted as saying in an April 29 Republican website article, “Whitmer scorches relationship with Michigan Legislature.”

Whitmer rejected negotiations on the two one-week extensions in exchange for quicker reopening of the state, which the GOP offered, WDIV Local 4 and clickondetroit.com reported.

Whitmer also said she would not sign Senate Bill 858, amended legislation that laid out extension dates for certain executive orders issued by the governor, reported mLive on April 30. Notably, one of the provisions in the bill would allow restaurants, bars, gyms and other public-facing businesses to open May 15, albeit with some social distancing restrictions.

The bill “does not comply with constitutional requirements” and the governor will not sign bills that “constrain her ability to protect Michigan residents from COVID-19,” according to the statement from the governor’s office.

“Senate Bill 858, which passed the legislature today, does not comply with constitutional requirements. Moreover, the governor will not sign any bills that constrain her ability to protect the people of Michigan from this deadly virus in a timely manner. The governor intends to veto this bill when presented to her.”

The statement went on to say that the “Republicans in the legislature want to negotiate opening up sectors of our economy. They’re acting as though we’re in the midst of a political problem. This is not a political problem that we have. This is a public health crisis.”