Republican State Representative Pamela Hornberger says there’s finally some progress to report surrounding the Unlock Michigan petition drive. She says it will be just a short time before the State Board of Canvassers decides on the validity of the resulting petition signatures. Lots of conservative leaders throughout the state have been critical of the Secretary of State’s office for its purposeful foot-dragging to certify the citizen-led initiative.

Now that step is over, and presuming the canvassers declare the signatures as valid, the primary issue is set to go to the state legislature.  Tomorrow (Friday, April 9, 2021) marks the close of a public challenge period. The issue is whether to eliminate the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act or place the question on next year’s statewide ballots for voters to decide the result.

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The Emergency Powers Act was used by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer to set up the initial COVID-19 virus closings in Michigan. The Governor’s move to unilaterally extend the closing orders was ultimately decided to be unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court.

The petition drive is spearheaded by the Unlock Michigan Group. It describes itself this way. “Unlock Michigan is a coalition of concerned Michiganders who believe that Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s crushing lockdown of life and business across Michigan is a dangerous threat to our livelihoods and constitutional liberties. We believe it is time for the people of Michigan to take back the power and remove the outdated law.”

Representative Hornberger says the Secretary of State office slow-rolled the approval process in an attempt to delay the action. She says that is beyond unacceptable. “Our state government must be more accountable to the people. There is no reason it should have taken this long to review petition signatures. Hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents have formally petitioned their government and their voices deserve to be heard.  I will continue to work to ensure these signatures are carefully reviewed and your constitutional rights are protected.”

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