I read this stuff so you don’t have to

A mere 37 days after voters repealed Public Act 4, Michigan’s notorious and anti-democratic Emergency Manager Law, Republican legislators passed a new version to replace it. It was signed into law as Public Act 436 thirteen days later. This defiant thumb-in-the-eye to the will of the voters was even more egregious since it contains two appropriations, one to pay Emergency Managers and another to hire consultants, lawyers, “work-out experts”, and others to implement the law. These appropriations ensure voters won’t have a chance to interfere with the business of our Very Serious GOP legislators on this matter again.

So, what, exactly, is in this new law? Well, for starters, let’s have a look at the title:

“THE LOCAL FINANCIAL STABILITY AND CHOICE ACT”

I’m not kidding. That’s what they call it. It’s surprising they didn’t figure out a way to include the words “FREEDOM” and “INDEPENDENCE” while they were at it. You can read the law HERE (pdf).

All the gory details of this new law after the jump.

A non-racist law with wildly racial impact

Back in December of 2011, I wrote a series of pieces that showed how Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law was having a skewed negative impact on African American cities. With Detroit on the verge of being assigned an Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) and with updated census data, it’s time to revisit the chart that put this law on the national radar.

In 2011, there were approximately 9,876,801 people in Michigan, about 1,402,506 (or 14.2%) of whom were African American. If Detroit gets an Emergency Financial Manager, 49% of the African Americans in Michigan will live in cities where their elected officials have been replaced by a single, state-appointed ruler.

Details after the jump.

In a comprehensive and sternly-worded letter to Governor Rick Snyder (pdf), Congressmen John Conyers, Jr., Hansen Clarke, and Gary Peters are asking for some answers regarding his administration’s proposed Detroit Consent Agreement. The letter focuses on seven key areas: Failure of State to Provide Any Financial AssistanceGovernor Snyder is asked to explain why, unlike in other struggling cities across the […]

Ouch. That’ll leave a mark. My favorite Michigan judge at the moment, Ingham County Judge William Collette, today issued yet another spanking to the administration of Governor Rick Snyder. The Snyder administration appealed a ruling made an earlier this week barring them from signing a Consent Agreement with Detroit until after a March 29th hearing. That hearing has been postponed […]

Can’t win for losin’… The Snyder administration was handed another in a long list of legal setbacks today as my now-favorite judge, Ingham Country Judge William Collette, smacked them down again. Recall that Judge Collette had already issued a mighty smackdown to the Detroit Emergency Manager Review Team earlier in the month: An Ingham County judge this afternoon ordered all […]

We all agree, this isn’t easy Last night, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan held a public panel discussion on Public Act 4 — Michigan’s Emergency Manager law. On the panel were Deputy State Treasurer for Local Government Services Roger Fraser, Chairman and CEO of Michigan Forward Brandon Jessup, Benton Harbor Emergency Manager […]

You don’t have to be a jerk about it Last spring when I published exclusive audio of Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris talking about crushing the unions, I was shocked at what he said and, more to the point, how he said it: So, I’ve laid off twenty-five people. I’ve laid off nine police officers. I’ve laid off four […]

A Consent Agreement by any other name is still an Emergency Manager Yesterday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder presented a Consent Agreement to the city of Detroit. You can read the 26-page Consent Agreement HERE (pdf). HuffPo Detroit has a great run-down of the key parts of the Consent Agreement HERE. There’s some surprisingly egregious stuff in there. Whoa. Here’s the […]

In our last episode… Detroit may avoid Emergency Manager by agreeing to a consent agreementThis morning, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder presented a consent agreement to Detroit city officials. This is basically his last offer before imposing an Emergency Manager on Michigan’s largest city. Michigan Radio reporting news from the Associated Press: Councilman James Tate says the deal includes an advisory […]

There goes another one, just like the other one… As I wrote about in January, the Indiana Senate decisively passed an Emergency Manager bill similar to but different than Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law. The vote was 48-1. Last Friday, the Indiana House passed the Emergency Manager bill unanimously, 96-0. Local governments and school corporations in financial distress could ask a […]

Here are some photos, courtesy of Michigan Forward, from the delivery of over 226,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of States office on Wednesday. Some details along with a statement from Michigan Forward are available in yesterday’s News Round-up. Rally at Central United Methodist Church Another rally shot Brandon Jessup, Rev. David Bullock, Rev. Charles Williams and others delivering petitions […]