The state of Michigan is moving to make the state’s emergency coronavirus restrictions permanent.
Michigan’s regulatory agencies plan to make COVID-19 rules such as mask wearing, social distancing, daily health screenings, record-keeping, and keeping a “COVID-19 safety coordinator” on-site permanent for Michigan businesses. Businesses would be forced to require their customers wear masks, whether or not they have been vaccinated against the virus.
Other proposed permanent rules include requiring sports stadiums to “establish safe exit procedures for patrons,” with dismissing fans by section listed as a possible option.
The rules mirror those originally put in place by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year, which were eventually struck down by the state’s Supreme Court when it ruled that the 1945 law she was citing to issue the directives was being used illegally.
But that ruling did little to slow down Whitmer, who pivoted to a different state law that allowed state agencies such as the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue the rules through their departments.
The new permanent rules being forwarded by MIOSHA come as the emergency rules the agency implemented last fall are set to expire. While those emergency rules can be extended for another six months, once that extension is over, the agency would be forced to make the rules permanent or abandon them.
Michigan’s Republican-controlled legislature has been critical of the governor’s handling of virus rules, saying she has acted unilaterally and failed to include them in the decision-making process. But there is little that the legislature can do to block state agencies from issuing new rules, having only the option to slow them down during a required public comment period but no power to negate them completely.
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Despite the strict measures in place for much of the pandemic, Michigan is experiencing a surge in new cases in recent weeks.
