Republican leaders are calling legislators back to the Michigan Capitol on Friday to assert their role in responding to the coronavirus pandemic with additional oversight and an attempt to limit Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency authority.

The House and Senate will meet to form a “special oversight committee” on the state’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, announced Thursday on Twitter.

Senate Republicans also plan to vote for the repeal of a 1945 law that Whitmer contends gives her authority to continue emergency actions beyond May 1 without legislative approval, a symbolic act given the governor’s ability to veto the measure.

“Michigan needs to handle this pandemic seriously yet properly. It’s what the people deserve, and we will see that it happens,” Chatfield wrote on Twitter.

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-republicans-launch-attack-gov-whitmers-emergency-powers