Whitmer 'not actively pushing' review of Michigan's emergency manager law

MACKINAC ISLAND − Buttressed by new Democratic majorities in the state Legislature, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has repealed Republican policies she opposed when she was a state lawmaker. But there's one controversial GOP measure she may be less eager to overturn: Michigan's emergency manager law.

"I didn't like the emergency manager law that the Snyder administration pushed," Whitmer said, referring to her Republican predecessor former Gov. Rick Snyder. She told the Free Press the law "had disastrous consequences," particularly during the Flint water crisis. In addition to Flint, several school systems and the city of Detroit were placed in emergency management during the Snyder administration.

"All that being said, we need to have some sort of mechanism where we know when a community's really I think getting into a precarious position and the state can't just be expected to show up and pay off everyone’s debts and start over again," Whitmer said.

"I think that there's probably some conversation to be had with the Legislature, but I'm not actively pushing anything in that space."

Whitmer has repealed or approved major overhauls of other Snyder-era policies, including the state's "right-to-work" law that allows those in unionized jobs to opt out of paying union dues or fees and tax relief for retirees and low-income workers.

Some Democratic lawmakers would like her to also axe Michigan's "Local Financial Stability and Choice Act" which empowers the governor to appoint an emergency manager to take over financially troubled local governments and school districts.

More: Whitmer announces new effort to reverse Michigan's sluggish population growth

More: Michigan's top lawmakers reveal policy challenges keeping them awake

House Bill 4065 would repeal the law and has the support of more than half of the Democratic state lawmakers serving in the state House.

"Creating emergency managers was a terrible idea that opened the door to the discrimination and decimation of low-income, primarily Black communities,” bill sponsor state Rep. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac, said in a statement. "It's time we right this wrong by repealing this law and returning the power to the people."

It's not clear to every Democrat that the emergency manager law should be repealed despite no Democrat voting for it at the time.

"The emergency manager law is a disaster, and it really ought to be amended," state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, previously told the Free Press. "But it's actually a trick bag for all of us. Because it's a law that deals with crises, nothing around it is pleasing or satisfying to anyone."

Snyder's former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said it would be "a mistake" to repeal the current law without replacing it. When local governments can't pay their employees or default on their debt, there needs to be a state law that can deal with such a "catastrophe," he said.

"When it gets to that point, there has to be some tool. I think that everybody has struggled with finding a tool that feels good, because the circumstances are so horrifically bad in the first place," he said. "It would be awfully risky to repeal it without some sort of answer on what do you do instead."

There are currently no local governments in Michigan under state oversight through the emergency manager law, according to a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Treasury. Highland Park School District was the last entity with an emergency manager.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer could favor replacement of emergency manager law