Conyers to Hold Forum on Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law: UPDATE

For Immediate Release

Date: Friday, February 17, 2012

Contact: Matthew Morgan – 202-226-5543

DaVonne Darby – 313-961-5670


Conyers to Hold Forum on Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law

(DETROIT) – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-M14) will host a Democratic Judiciary forum concerning the legal implications of the Emergency Manager Law. The forum will start at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February, 21, 2012 and will be held at Soul Harvest Ministries in Highland Park.

Currently, there are six emergency managers appointed under the Michigan Emergency Law (Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint, Pontiac, Detroit Public Schools, Highland Park School District) and a review for an appointment is ongoing with respect to the cities of Detroit and Muskegon Heights. Several lawsuits have been brought challenging the law and its implementation, and a petition drive is pending which would suspend the law subject to a statewide referendum in November. At the same time, other states such as Indiana are considering adopting emergency manager laws similar to Michigan’s statute. This forum will consider a range of issues, including the EM law’s possible impact on voting rights, representative form of government, collective bargaining rights; the legality and appropriateness of effort in Lansing to reinstate the law notwithstanding the referendum process; the law’s consistence with the Open Meetings Act, and the state’s compliance with its revenue sharing obligations. Witnesses will include the Emergency Manager for Benton Harbor, preeminent constitutional, voting rights, and bankruptcy legal experts as well as representatives of impacted communities, safety officials, and unions.

In December, Representative Conyers wrote the U.S. Department of Justice to ask the Attorney General to review the law’s constitutionality. That same month, Representative Conyers along with Representatives Clarke and Peters, 55 State Legislators (9 State Senators and 46 State Representatives) and 8 Detroit City Council Members, wrote a letter requesting a meeting with Governor Snyder to discuss the Emergency Manager Law.

WHAT: Forum to Discuss the Legal Implications of Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law

WHERE: Soul Harvest Ministries
16300 Woodward Avenue
Highland Park, MI, 48203

WHEN: Tuesday, February 21, 2012. 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

WHO:
Participants

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Michigan’s 14th Congressional District and Ranking Member House Judiciary Committee

The Honorable Hansen Clarke
Michigan’s 13th Congressional District

The Honorable Gary Peters
Michigan’s 9th Congressional District

The Honorable Bert Johnson
Michigan’s 2nd Senate District

The Honorable John Olumba
Michigan’s 5th House District

The Honorable JoAnn Watson
Detroit City Council

Panelists

Joe Harris
Emergency Manager, Benton Harbor

Reverend David Alexander Bullock
Rainbow PUSH Coalition Detroit

The Honorable Fred Durhal, Jr.
Michigan’s 6th House District and Chairperson Michigan Legislative Black Caucus

The Honorable Thomas Stallworth
Michigan’s 8th House District

The Honorable DeAndre Windom
Mayor, Highland Park, Michigan

The Honorable Marcus Muhammad
Benton Harbor City Council

Professor Kenneth N. Klee
UCLA School of Law

Professor Jocelyn Benson
Wayne State University Law School

Al Garrett
President, Council 25, AFSCME

Chris Michalakis
Secretary-Treasurer, Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO

Officer Joe Duncan
President, Detroit Police Officers Association

Kenneth Cole
Representative for the City of Detroit to Michigan State Government

Brandon Jessup
Chairman, Michigan Forward

John Philo
Legal Director, Sugar Law Center

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