A bipartisan group of former state and local public health officials are urging people to ignore a petition campaign that would enact new restrictions on emergency powers.
The petition drive would limit state or local emergency health orders to 28 days unless extensions are approved by the Legislature or county commissions.
Janet Olszewski was Governor Jennifer Granholm’s public health director. She says the initiative would put the judgment of politicians over public health experts.
“Public health emergencies are complex. They are fast-moving and ever-changing.”
The public health chief who served under Republican Governors John Engler and Rick Snyder is also part of the decline-to-sign campaign.