LANSING -- A state elections panel is set to vote Wednesday to place the repeal of Michigan's beefed-up emergency manager law on the November ballot, effectively suspending the law until after the vote.
The Board of State Canvassers announced this morning it will meet at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Capitol, five days after the Michigan Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to petitions filed by opponents of the law.
The impact of suspension of the law remains unclear. The administration of Gov. Rick Snyder, backed by an opinion from Attorney General Bill Schuette, insists that emergency managers now on the job in Benton Harbor, Pontiac, Ecorse, the Highland Park and Detroit schools will remain in place under the provisions of an older version of the law. The manager in Flint, who formerly served as the city's mayor and is therefore ineligible under the older law, will be replaced, Treasure Andy Dillon said.
Opponents of the law from the group Stand Up For Democracy, which led the petition drive, dispute that claim and have said they expect legal challenges to be mounted if the managers remain on the job.