Michigan's Governor May Be Worse Than Walker

By karoli
CrooksandLiars
[h/t Heather]

One of the problems with everything going haywire at once is the possibility of letting a really, really important thing go unnoticed. While we've all been looking at Wisconsin, Michigan could actually be facing worse, and more draconian measures intended not only to break unions, but the public schools, municipal governments and much, much more.

The Michigan Martial Law Act of 2011 is fast-tracking right onto Governor Rick Snyder's desk just in time to take center stage after the fact. Despite large protests in Lansing, it's getting very little press while the Wisconsin conflict continues.

Michigan Messenger:

According to the law, which has already been approved in the House, the governor will be able to declare “financial emergency” in towns or school districts and appoint someone to fire local elected officials, break contracts, seize and sell assets, and eliminate services.

Under the law whole cities or school districts could be eliminated without any public participation or oversight, and amendments designed to provide minimal safeguards and public involvement were voted down.

An amendment to require Emergency Managers to hold monthly public meetings to let people know how they are governing was rejected by Senate Republicans, along with proposals to cap Emergency Manager compensation and require that those appointed to run school districts have some background in education.

(More here.)