How the hell is this legal? 5% of voters + legislature can create law without governor???

[Takket]

https://www.wxyz.com/news/drive-to-repeal-law-whitmer-used-in-pandemic-clears-hurdle

The key sentence:

Unlock Michigan, which has ties to Republicans, submitted an estimated 460,358 valid signatures, more than the roughly 340,000 needed, according to a staff report. If the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers agrees with the recommendation to certify the initiative at a Thursday meeting, the GOP-led Legislature will likely pass the measure rather than let it go to a public vote in 2022. The Democratic governor could not veto it.

Snip

Let me be clear. The Michigan Supreme Court already threw out the law that this is about, so it is no longer in effect if you read the article.

But how the hell can a petition signed by only 5% of Michiganders become law if the legislature passes it and the governor cannot veto it??? That does not in any way reflect the will of the voters. Millions of us voted for Gretchen Whitmer to run the state and our elected governor is booted out of the process??? Because 5% of voters say so??? What about the other 95% of us???

If it goes to a ballot petition so the whole state can vote on it, fine, but how can the legislature repeal a law on its own???

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. This is very strange

[triron]

2. Yes it is.

[LakeArenal]

3. Sounds like Wisconsin

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

4. Michigan isn't unique with this, there are 7 or 8 other states at least that have similar statutes

It takes 5% of the voters to propose a law. The exact number is based on the last general election if I remember right. If they get enough signatures for the law, then the state Legislature has to vote on it. They have to either pass it as is, modify it, or decline it. If they decline it, then it goes onto the next ballot. If its modified, then the both the original language and the modified language go onto the ballot.

Note, this is the exact process they plan on changing voting laws after the inevitable Whitmer veto.

[GregariousGroundhog]

5. I could be reading Michigan's constitution wrong, but I think this is sloppy reporting

Michigan's constitution has a clause, "Any law proposed by initiative petition shall be either enacted or rejected by the legislature without change or amendment within 40 session days from the time such petition is received by the legislature. If any law proposed by such petition shall be enacted by the legislature it shall be subject to referendum"

If the legislature passes the initiative, I believe it would then go to voters in 2022 based on the section of Michigan's Constitution quoted above.

There are also sections stating that voter initiatives are immune to governor veto and can only be revoked by voters or by a 3/4 supermajority in both houses of Michigan's legislature.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

7. You are missing the ", as hereinafter provided." part after referendum.

Any law proposed by initiative petition shall be either enacted or rejected by the legislature without change or amendment within 40 session days from the time such petition is received by the legislature. If any law proposed by such petition shall be enacted by the legislature it shall be subject to referendum, as hereinafter provided.
If the law so proposed is not enacted by the legislature within the 40 days, the state officer authorized by law shall submit such proposed law to the people for approval or rejection at the next general election. The legislature may reject any measure so proposed by initiative petition and propose a different measure upon the same subject by a yea and nay vote upon separate roll calls, and in such event both measures shall be submitted by such state officer to the electors for approval or rejection at the next general election.

The referendum part is the next paragraph and it only applies if the Legislature does not approve of the initiative, or if they chose to pass a modified version of it.

[GregariousGroundhog]

9. Interesting

So the whole "if any law proposed by such petition shall by enacted by the legislature it shall be subject to referendum" is cancelled out because the paragraph after the phrase "as hereinafter provided" only talks about scenarios where there legislature does not approve?

I feel like this could have been written in a less confusing manner.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

11. Definitely could be better written

But essentially yes.

This process was most recently used 3 times in 2018.

[Thomas Hurt]

6. Fascist selective populism

[abqtommy]

8. Thank you for the mention of the Fascist connection. I love to hate me them fascists.

[Celerity]

10. Yet another fascist easter egg buried in State Constitutions

Fucked up nation.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

14. The last couple times this was used was in 2018

It was used to increase the minimum wage and to require paid sick time. Both sides have used this process in Michigan.

[Celerity]

15. Whole thing seems dodgy to me.

[Kaleva]

17. Not quite true.

The Repubs passed legislation which was signed by then Governor Snyder which rolled back the petition to increase the minimum wage to $12.00 by the year 2022.

"Outgoing GOP governor in Michigan signs bills gutting minimum wage increase, paid sick time

As reported in September, Michigan’s Republican-led legislature voted to keep the Michigan Time to Care and One Fair Wage ballot proposals away from voters by adopting both bills themselves. By pre-empting a vote on the proposals, Republican lawmakers were then able, in a move some say violated the state’s constitution, to amend them.

And amend them they have. According to the Gongwer News Service’s report about Snyder’s action, the One Fair Wage proposal would have raised the state’s minimum wage to $12 by 2022 and slowly eliminated employers’ ability to pay tipped workers just 38 percent of the state minimum.

Under the bill signed Friday by Snyder, the state’s minimum won’t hit $12 an hour until 2030, tipped workers will continue to receive a lesser minimum wage, and the new law will also eliminate a provision of the ballot proposal that would have increased the state minimum wage to keep up with inflation."

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/12/15/1819224/-Outgoing-GOP-governor-in-Michigan-signs-bills-gutting-minimum-wage-increase-paid-sick-time

[TheBlackAdder]

12. The making of a totalitarian state. Soon the government with business will control productivity.

.

The bourgeoisie will soon be just a fraction of the population, as more and more are pushed to become the proletariat class.


As I have noticed in many devolving states, the capitalists are the ones who deploy Marxist tactics.

.

[Grins]

13. Can't 5% of Democrats also petition...?

Crazy law.

[FBaggins]

16. Of course

But then the legislature has to agree with them.