Michigan's Emergency Financial Law Suspended After Michigan Supreme Court Compels Certification Of Referendum Petition

In March, 2012, we described how a citizens' group, Stand Up for Democracy, opposed Michigan's emergency financial manager law, officially entitled "Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act, MCL §§ 141.1501, et seq. (the "Act"), by filing petitions to place the issue of the Act's repeal on the state ballot in November. The Board of State Canvassers reached a stalemate with respect to a motion to certify the petition, with the two Republican members of the Board believing that a question arose as to the size of the words of the petition heading, and the two Democrat members believing that the petition was in total compliance with the requirements for certification. Based on this stalemate, the Board did not approve the motion to certify the petition.

Thereafter, Stand Up for Democracy filed a complaint for mandamus in the Michigan Court of Appeals, requesting that the court order certification of the petition. The Michigan Court of Appeals granted the writ of mandamus based on substantial compliance, thus compelling inclusion of the referendum on the ballot. However, an organization calling itself the Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility challenged certification of the petitions and the signatures contained therein, alleging that (i) the form of the petition failed to comply with the type-size requirement of MCL 168.482(2), and (ii) the doctrine of substantial compliance is inapplicable to cure defects in petitions.

On August 3, 2012, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of certification of the petition, thus suspending the Act until registered voters of the State of Michigan decide whether to approve the Act on November 6, 2012. Stand Up for Democracy v. Secretary of State, __ N.W.2d __, 2012 WL...