State Sen. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor stands in the Senate chamber on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
State Rep. Gary Howell, R-North Branch, walks through the House floor on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist wears an Everybody vs. COVID-19 t-shirt on the Senate floor on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Lawmakers stand in the Senate chamber on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Protestors gather outside on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Sen. Dayna Polehanki stands int the Senate chamber on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Protestors gather outside on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, stands on the Senate floor on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, stands in the chamber on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, stands at the House podium on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
The State Senate meets on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Protestors gather outside on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
A sign on the House floor on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
State Sen. Rick Outman, R-Six Lakes, stands in the Senate chamber on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Media members have their temperatures taken as they enter on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Protestors gather outside on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
The State Senate meets on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Media members have their temperatures checked as they enter on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Lawmakers check in one by one in the State House on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Protestors gather outside on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, stands on the Senate floor for the pledge of allegiance on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Protestors gather outside on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist presides over the Senate on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
A lone man walks in the Capitol hallways on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, stands at the House podium on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
State Rep. Cynthia Neeley, D-Flint, checks in on the House floor on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
Protestors gather outside on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the Capitol in Lansing. Both the house and senate met under social distancing guidelines.
The Republican-led Michigan legislature on Friday approved measures to limit Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive authority to declare a state of emergency and to create a panel to investigate the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After roughly an hour of passionate debate, the Michigan Senate voted 22-15 along partisan lines to pass Senate Bills 857 and 858, which, respectively, would repeal the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 and limit the number of days the governor can unilaterally declare a state of emergency under a separate law from 28 days to 14.
Whitmer’s office ahead of Friday’s session said she’d veto the bills if they reached her desk, and reiterated that stance during a morning news briefing: “The powers of the executive office are incredibly important, especially in times of crisis where lives are on the line.”
She said she found it “odd” the legislature was continuing to congregate and go against the spirit of the stay-at-home order, which she extended through May 15, albeit with several revisions on allowed activity.
“I think that they should be focused on making sure that people who’ve lost their jobs have access to health care if they’re doing anything together,” she said. “I think that they should be focusing on paid sick leave, if they are determined to congregate in Lansing."
Both the House and Senate also approved a resolution to create a joint legislative oversight committee with both Republican and Democrat lawmakers serving to investigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attempted amendments from Sens. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, and Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, to put an equal number of Republicans and Democrats on the board and expand the committee’s scope to include federal handling of the pandemic were not adopted.
On the Senate bills limiting emergency authority, bill sponsor Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, said the legislation was necessary to ensure the balance of government. Some systems of government provide total authority to one person, he said: “Thankfully, the state of Michigan is not one of them.”
But several Senate Democrats - many of whom represent Southeast Michigan, where COVID-19 has hit the hardest - called the bills political, and questioned the need to come into session for them and potentially risk additional exposure and spread.
Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, shared his personal experience with coronavirus on the Senate floor, telling his colleagues that his father got sick and tested negative for COVID-19, but it could have been a false negative. His father is now healthy, he said.
Moss said lawmakers from around the state shouldn’t assume the governor is trying to punish constituents by implementing measures like the stay-at-home order, nor should they assume the coronavirus is a problem only Southeast Michigan is facing.
“The governor is doing everything she can to mitigate its spread,” he said. “These bills callously second guess her motivations.”
Precautions including limiting staff on the floor, restricting press to the House and Senate galleries and checking lawmakers and visitors to the Capitol for COVID-19 symptoms upon entry continued Friday.
Earlier Friday, Whitmer extended the state’s stay-at-home order through May 15, although certain restrictions previously included like bans on motorized boating, golf and certain retail operations were lifted.
Landscapers, lawn-service companies, nurseries and bike repair shops will be allowed to return to work subject to strict social distancing, and big-box stores will be allowed to reopen closed sections of the store. Other retailers will now be allowed to reopen for curbside pick-up or delivery.
And residents will be allowed to travel between their residences again, although such travel is “strongly discouraged," according to a press release from the governor’s office.
Public-facing businesses like gyms salons, bars and in-person dining at restaurants remain off-limits under the order.
COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS
In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.
Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.
Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.
Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here
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