The state Senate was back in session Tuesday with plans to return again Wednesday. The Republican-controlled chamber adopted resolutions asking Governor Gretchen Whitmer to reconsider aspects of her stay-at-home orders.
Republican Lana Theiss (R-Brighton) says they want medical and dental workers to be allowed to perform elective procedures.
“This resolution calls on Governor Whitmer to end her moratorium on elective procedures in Michigan, allowing qualified medical professionals to decide when it is safe for them to resume their important work,” she says.
The resolutions are not binding, but Sen. Roger Victory (R-Hudsonville) says it’s time to rein in the governor.
“These orders are so broad, so aggressive that they are causing confusion across Michigan,” he says.
Victory says the state needs to move more quickly to allow sections of the economy to re-open.
“So I urge you, I plead, regardless of your feelings on this entire situation, let us apply some commonsense rationale to these executive orders.”
The governor’s current executive order expires Thursday.
But House Speaker Lee Chatfield told MLive Republicans might challenge the governor in court if she tries to unilaterally extend it.
The Legislature could also vote this week on whether to extend Whitmer’s emergency powers during the COVID-19 crisis. There’s a difference of opinion on how long her authority should last without a renewal vote.
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