house Concurrent Resolution No.22
Reps. Hornberger, Steven Johnson, Reilly, Hoitenga, Eisen, Griffin, Meerman, Rendon, Allor, Paquette and Maddock offered the following concurrent resolution:
Whereas, Under the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, the Governor may declare a state of disaster and a state of emergency for the reasons specified therein; and
Whereas, A state of disaster or state of emergency declared under the Emergency Management Act continues until the Governor finds that the threat or danger has passed, the disaster or emergency has been dealt with to the extent that disaster or emergency conditions no longer exist, or until the declared state of disaster or emergency has been in effect for 28 days; and
Whereas, After 28 days, the Governor shall issue an executive order or proclamation declaring the state of disaster or emergency terminated, unless a request by the Governor for an extension of the state of disaster or emergency for a specific number of days is approved by resolution of both houses of the Legislature; and
Whereas, An executive order or proclamation declaring the state of disaster or emergency shall indicate the area or areas threatened, the conditions causing the emergency, and the conditions permitting the termination of the state of emergency; and
Whereas, On March 10, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-4 declaring a state of emergency across the entire state of Michigan to address the COVID-19 pandemic; and
Whereas, On April 1, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-33 to replace Executive Order 2020-4 and expand the initial March 10, 2020, declaration to include a state of disaster related to the COVID-19 pandemic through April 30, 2020; and
Whereas, Executive Order 2020-33 states that the state of emergency and the state of disaster will terminate when emergency and disaster conditions no longer exist and appropriate programs have been implemented to recover from any effects of the statewide emergency and disaster, consistent with the legal authorities upon which the declaration is based and any limits imposed by those authorities, including Section 3 of the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, MCL 30.403; and
Whereas, On April 1, 2020, Governor Whitmer requested that the Legislature pass a concurrent resolution extending the state of emergency and state of disaster statewide across Michigan through April 30, 2020; and
Whereas, On April 7, 2020, the Legislature passed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 24 authorizing Executive Order 2020-33 through April 30, 2020; and
Whereas, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-42 to replace Executive Order 2020-21, effective April 9, 2020, and extend the suspension of certain activities across the entire state of Michigan through April 30, 2020; and
Whereas, On April 24, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-59 to replace Executive Order 2020-42 and suspend certain activities across the entire state of Michigan through May 15, 2020; and
Whereas, The duration of Executive Order 2020-59 through May 15, 2020, extends beyond the April 30, 2020, duration of Executive Order 2020-33; and
Whereas, Governor Whitmer did not provide scientific data to justify the state of emergency being declared equally across all 83 counties of the state of Michigan or to demonstrate that the statewide suspension of certain activities under Executive Order 2020-42 and Executive Order 2020-59 were necessary, reasonable, and not creating undue hardships; and
Whereas, Suspension of activities under Executive Order 2020-42 and Executive Order 2020-59 placed arbitrary and inconsistent restrictions, without reasonable scientific justification, on particular activities of a person, sometimes resulting in oppressive consequences, regardless of a person’s efforts to implement national guidelines for safe social distancing that combat the spread of COVID-19 and without considering if a person has recovered from COVID-19; and
Whereas, Executive Order 2020-42 and Executive Order 2020-59, placed arbitrary and inconsistent restrictions, without reasonable scientific justification, on some businesses but not on others, regardless of efforts by a business to implement national guidelines for safe social distancing that can combat the spread of COVID-19; and
Whereas, Executive Order 2020-42 and Executive Order 2020-59 placed arbitrary and inconsistent restrictions, without reasonable scientific justification, on individual’s rights to associate, assemble, worship, and travel, including but not limited to the ability of a person to assemble for worship or see family members outside of a person’s household, regardless of efforts taken to implement national guidelines for safe social distancing that can combat the spread of COVID-19 and without considering if a person has recovered from COVID-19; and
Whereas, COVID-19 has impacted population groups differently, with some high-risk persons who are older or have underlying health conditions being more vulnerable and other low-risk persons able to safely participate in activities by following national guidelines for safe social distancing or if they have recovered from COVID-19; and
Whereas, COVID-19 has impacted areas and regions of the state differently with some counties being able to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19 by following national guidelines for safe social distancing; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That we demand that the Governor compile and make available within three days from the date of this concurrent resolution, in a manner easily accessible by the public, detailed data, summarized by county, on:
1. The daily number of available hospital related beds occupied by all patients since January 1, 2020, segregated by in-patient beds, negative air flow beds, and intensive care unit (ICU) beds.
2. The daily number of available hospital-related beds occupied by verified COVID-19 patients since January 1, 2020, segregated by in-patient beds, negative air flow beds, and ICU beds.
3. The daily number of emergency room visits in total and the daily number of emergency room visits by patients testing positive for COVID-19 since January 1, 2020.
4. The daily number of verified COVID-19 hospitalizations and verified COVID-19 deaths that are related to retirement or nursing homes since January 1, 2020.
5. The daily number of verified COVID-19 hospitalizations and verified COVID-19 deaths of individuals, who have had other pre-existing or underlying health conditions, since January 1, 2020, with a segregation of those health conditions and a breakout of verified COVID-19 hospitalizations and verified COVID-19 deaths by age, gender, and race.
6. The daily number of ventilators available and daily inventories of hospital personal protective equipment since April 9, 2020.
7. The number of medical professionals who have been furloughed, had work hours reduced, or received a cut in pay since March 10, 2020.
; and be it further
Resolved, That we demand that all data related to emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths related to COVID-19 patients be verified and confirmed to be COVID-19 positive patients, and the date of emergency visit, hospitalization, or death be recorded as the actual date of occurrence, not the date of any data adjustments being made subsequently; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage the people of Michigan to continue to follow national guidelines for safe social distancing; and be it further
Resolved, That we reject an extension of the state of emergency and state of disaster declared by Governor Whitmer in Executive Order 2020-33 that is in effect through April 30, 2020; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor.