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Unlock Michigan petition drive Thursday in IM

IRON MOUNTAIN — Local representatives of a petition drive to repeal the emergency law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is using to address the coronavirus pandemic will have a signing event from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot near Recreation Lanes.

“It’s not about the mask,” said Pamela Trask, a member of the local leadership team of Unlock Michigan. “It’s about restoring checks and balances in our state government.”

More than 100 Dickinson County residents have joined 54,000 other Michiganders in the Unlock Michigan petition drive, an effort to repeal the Powers of Governor Act of 1945.

This law gives any governor unlimited power to unilaterally declare a state of emergency for as long as they deem necessary, according to petition organizers.

The 1976 Emergency Management Act provides for the same powers but requires the advice and consent of the Legislature and is limited to 28 days, with options to renew.

Registered Michigan voters who are interested in signing the petition are encouraged to stop by Thursday’s signing event. The group will have to collect more than 340,000 valid signatures to submit the petition to the Legislature.

If the Legislature adopts the measure, it would become law and could not be vetoed by Whitmer. If the Legislature declines to adopt it, it would go on the 2022 general election ballot.

In May, the Legislature refused to grant a 28-day extension of emergency measures enacted by Whitmer under the Emergency Management Act, leaving the governor to rely solely on the 1945 statute, which requires no signoff from the Legislature.

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