A small crowd cheered at the state Capitol as an elections board Wednesday ended its deadlock and placed a referendum on Michigan’s emergency manager law on the November ballot. The Board of State Canvassers was complying with instructions from the Michigan Supreme Court. The court rejected a challenge to font size on part of the petitions circulated by the ballot campaign.
The campaign cheered the board’s action, which also suspends the emergency manager law until after the election. But Governor Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette say now the old financial manager law takes its place. Emergency managers have already been placed back in charge of cities including Benton Harbor and Flint. Emergency managers running a total of seven cities and school districts in Michigan. They do have less authority than they did under the emergency manager law.
Attorney Herb Sanders disagrees with the decision to resurrect the old law.
“The Michigan Compiled Laws is clear that when something is repealed its repealed,” Sanders says. “So we’re going to assess the attorney general’s opinion, and then we’re going to advise our client accordingly.”
Sanders did not rule out the possibility of going back to court on behalf of the ballot campaign.
Meanwhille Emergency managers have already been placed back in charge of cities including Benton Harbor and Flint. Emergency managers running a total of seven cities and school districts in Michigan. But they now have less authority than they did under the emergency manager law.
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