Michigan black caucus plans federal case against Emergency Manager law

The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is working with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), and others on a lawsuit to challenge Michigan’s Emergency Manager law.

Rep. Fred Durhal (D-Detroit), chairman of the caucus, said last night that the group expects to challenge the law in federal court within a few weeks.

The Emergency Manager law, also known as Public Act 4, violates the voting rights of people in Michigan, he said, and runs afoul of Constitutional provisions against enacting laws to violate contracts.

Durhal said the group also expects to file suit in state court for violations of the Home Rule Act which empowers communities to elect their local governments.

Conyers is the only member of Michigan’s Congressional delegation to publicly criticize the law.

In a statement last month he said that allowing Emergency Managers to dissolve local governments, “implicitly targets minority communities that are disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn, without providing meaningful support for improved economic opportunity.”

Conyers called the bill an opportunistic Republican power grab aimed at crushing workers rights.

Durhal said that he expects the group will ask the court for an injunction on the law.

“If we are going to stop the travesty caused by this law,” he said, “we need to start with Benton Harbor.”