Snyder comments on MI Supreme Court ruling

Gov. Rick Snyder issued the following statement today regarding the Michigan Supreme Court ruling that puts the state’s Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act (Public Act 4 of 2011) on the November ballot:

“While I fully support the right of all citizens to express their views, suspension of the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act may adversely affect Michigan communities and school districts mired in financial emergencies. It promises to make eventual solutions to those emergencies more painful.

“One of the act’s primary goals is to identify financial emergencies before they become full-blown crises. Suspending the law limits the state’s ability to offer early intervention and assistance, and eliminates important tools that emergency managers need to address financial emergencies as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Once the petition initiative is certified for the statewide ballot, Public Act 72 of 1990 is revived. This law — the Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act – will ensure continuity for local units of government currently in financial emergencies. This is critical given the state’s responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, regardless of the city in which they live or the school district they attend.”

The Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice is co-counsel with Stand-Up for Democracy in the case against Public Act 4 and represents 28 Plaintiffs in the challenge.

“We are pleased that after all is said and done, the will of hundreds of thousands of citizens won out over political wrangling, and now the voters will have their say,” said John Philo, Legal Director for the Sugar Law Center. “Our hope is that democracy will win at the ballot box as well, and this anti-voter law will be struck down once and for all.”