SENATE BILL NO. 958

June 04, 2020, Introduced by Senator LASATA and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

A bill to amend 1945 PA 302, entitled

"An act authorizing the governor to proclaim a state of emergency, and to prescribe the powers and duties of the governor with respect thereto; and to prescribe penalties,"

by amending section 1 (MCL 10.31), as amended by 2006 PA 546.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 1. (1) During times of great public crisis, disaster, rioting, catastrophe, or similar public emergency within the state, or reasonable apprehension of immediate danger of a public emergency of that kind, when public safety is imperiled, either upon application of the mayor of a city, the sheriff of a county, or the commissioner of the Michigan director of the department of state police or upon his or her own volition, the governor may proclaim a state of emergency and designate the area involved. After making the proclamation or declaration, the governor may promulgate reasonable orders, rules, and regulations as he or she considers necessary to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under control. Those orders, rules, and regulations may include, but are not limited to, providing 1 or more of the following:

(a) Providing for the control of traffic, including public and private transportation, within the area or any section of the area. ; designation

(b) Designation of specific zones within the area in which occupancy and use of buildings and ingress and egress of persons and vehicles may be prohibited or regulated. ; control

(c) Control of places of amusement and assembly and of persons on public streets and thoroughfares. ; establishment

(d) Establishment of a curfew. ; control

(e) Control of the sale, transportation, and use of alcoholic beverages and liquors. ; and control

(f) Control of the storage, use, and transportation of explosives or inflammable materials or liquids deemed considered to be dangerous to public safety.

(2) The Except as otherwise provided in this section, the orders, rules, and regulations promulgated under subsection (1) are effective from the date and in the manner prescribed in the orders, rules, and regulations and shall be made public as provided in the orders, rules, and regulations. The orders, rules, and regulations may be amended, modified, or rescinded, in the manner in which they were promulgated, from time to time by the governor during the pendency of the emergency, but shall cease to be in effect upon declaration by the governor that the emergency no longer exists.

(3) Subsection (1) does not authorize the seizure, taking, or confiscation of lawfully possessed firearms, ammunition, or other weapons.

(4) If the governor declares a state of emergency under this section and intends to issue any orders, rules, or regulations under that declaration, the governor shall consider how different counties in this state will be affected and shall consult with public officials and community leaders in each of those counties before issuing that order, rule, or regulation. If any order, rule, or regulation includes a stay-at-home requirement, then a county may petition the governor to release that county from the stay-at-home requirement if the county details in its petition how it will protect the public health in that county.