Lawsuit asks court to intervene, restore representative democracy

State Rep. Julie Calley said the Legislature this week continued its work to ensure voices of people all throughout Michigan are considered as the state continues to respond to COVID-19 by seeking intervention from the Court of Claims.

Calley, of Portland, said the Legislature filed the lawsuit against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer because she refuses to recognize that her unchecked emergency powers must come to an end. She said the lawsuit was an unfortunate but necessary step the Legislature must take to ensure the people of Michigan are represented in the decisions being made as the fight against COVID-19 continues and the state begins to safely reopen.

“The people of Michigan deserve to have their voices considered as the state continues its response to COVID-19 – and the best way to accomplish that is through legislators, who serve as a direct link to the people in their communities,” Calley said. “The legislative process has inherent safeguards that add transparency and consensus-based decision-making to all of the work we do, and that is what has been sorely missing in our state’s COVID-19 response so far. We offered a partnership to the governor, which she did not accept. It’s unfortunate that we are being forced to take the governor to court just to get a seat at the table.”

Calley said both the state and federal governments have three branches of government that are meant to be co-equal, with no one branch or individual wielding autonomous power.

“The separation of powers is incredibly important because it prevents anyone from ruling by proclamation and instead necessitates deliberation and decision-making by the people’s representatives,” Calley said. “That’s even more important during this time, when the decisions being made by state government directly affect the fundamental rights of all Michigan families.”

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