Opinion ID: 4572792
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: practical construction of the epga

Text: Another relevant interpretive consideration is how governors have used and construed the EPGA in the past. See Westbrook v Miller, 56 Mich 148, 151-152; 22 NW 256 (1885) (noting that “great deference is always” owed to an executive’s practical construction of a statute it enforces); 2B Singer, Sutherland Statutory Construction (7th ed, October 2019 update), § 49:3 (noting that “long-continued contemporaneous and practical interpretation of a statute by executive officers . . . is an invaluable aid to construction” and “is closely related to the doctrine that statutes are given their common and ordinary meaning”). In this regard, although “public health” was mentioned in past emergency declarations and orders under the EPGA, none ever involved public-health emergencies.16 Rather, prior to the adoption of the EMA in 1976, in the handful of times it was invoked, governors had employed the EPGA for events like riots, energy shortages, and violent strikes or protests. See, e.g., Executive Order No. 1967-3 (riots). Since the passage of the EMA in 1976, the EPGA has been mostly dormant. The only executive order expressly 16 It has been observed that Governor William Milliken ostensibly used the EPGA in 1970 to ban fishing in Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River due to pollution concerns; two weeks after issuing that order, he issued a similar order banning commercial walleye fishing on Lake Erie. See Van Beek, A History of Michigan’s Controversial 1945 Emergency Powers Law (August 31, 2020), p 3. But even assuming that this falls within the realm of “public health,” Governor Milliken’s orders did not cite the EPGA or declare an emergency. Executive Order No. 1970-6; Executive Order No. 1970-7. 22 citing the EPGA in the past 50 years was in response to an oil spill—but the EMA was also invoked. Executive Order No. 2010-7. That is it. This limited, practical use of the EPGA was perhaps a result of Governor Milliken’s belief, expressed in his “Special Message to the Legislature on Natural Disasters,” that the statute was “pertinent to civil disturbances . . . .” 1973 House Journal 861 (No. 41, April 11, 1973). Whatever the reason for its limited use, the Governor’s current application of the statute to cover public-health emergencies is unprecedented.17 Thus, an examination of the statute’s prior uses also supports the narrower interpretation given above. 17 Not only is the Governor’s use of the statute unprecedented in Michigan, it is unique across the entire country. The statutory authority invoked in the COVID-19 emergency declarations by nearly every other state governor explicitly contemplates public-health emergencies. See Ala Code 31-9-1 and Ala Code 31-9-3(4); Alas Stat 26.23.020(i); Ariz Rev Stat Ann 26-301(15), Ariz Rev State Ann 26-303(D) and Ariz Rev Stat Ann 36-787; Ark Code Ann 12-75-102 and Ark Code Ann 20-7-110; Cal Gov Code 8558; Colo Rev Stat 24-33.5-704.5; Conn Gen Stat 19a-131a; Del Code Ann, tit 20, §§ 3102(2) and 3132(11); Fla Stat 381.00315; Ga Code Ann 38-3-51(a); Hawaii Rev Stat 127A-2; Idaho Code 46-1002 and Idaho Code 46-1007; Ill Comp Stat, ch 20, 3305/4; Ind Code 10-14-3- 12 and Ind Code 10-14-3-1; Iowa Code 29C.6(1); Kan Stat Ann 48-904; Ky Rev Stat Ann 39A.020(12); La Stat Ann 29:762; Me Stat, tit 37-B, § 703 and Me Stat, tit 22, § 801(4-A); Md Code Ann, Pub Safety, 14-101(c); Mass Gen Laws, ch 17, § 2A; Minn Stat 4.035(2); Miss Code Ann 33-15-5(g); Mont Code Ann 10-3-103(4); NJ Stat Ann 26:13-2; NM Stat Ann 12-10A-3 and NM Stat Ann 12-10-4(B); NY Exec Law 20 (McKinney); NC Gen Stat 166A-19.3(6); ND Cent Code 37-17.1-04; Ohio Rev Code Ann 5502.21; Okla Stat, tit 63, §§ 683.2(A) and 683.3; Or Rev Stat 401.025; Pa Cons Stat, tit 35, § 7102; RI Gen Laws, tit 30, § 30-15-3; SC Code Ann 25-1-440 and SC Code Ann 44-4-130; SD Codified Laws 34-48A-1; Tenn Code Ann 58-2-102; Tex Gov’t Code Ann 418.014; Utah Code Ann 532a-202(1); Vt Stat Ann, tit 20, § 1(a); Va Code Ann 44-146.14(a) and Va Code Ann 44146.16; Wash Rev Code 38.52.010 and Wash Rev Code 38.52.020(1); W Va Code 15-5- 1; Wis Stat 323.10; Wy Stat Ann 19-13-103(a) and Wy Stat Ann 35-4-115(a)(i); see also Nev Rev Stat 414.0335 and Nev Rev Stat 414.0345 (the governor did not cite specific statutes in the COVID-19 declaration of emergency but instead broadly invoked the “laws” of the state—these statutes allow emergency declarations for public-health events). 23