On Election Day, voters in Michigan successfully repealed Public Act 4 by voting "No" on Proposal 1. This caused confusion over whether or not this meant Public Act 72 (the original form of the Act) was also repealed. In the end however, it looks like the decision has been made that Public Act 72 has returned. Michigan's Attorney General Bill Schuette wrote an opinion saying that should Public Act 4 be repealed, Public Act 72 would take its place. However, this decision could be opened up to legal challenges. Both the Flint City Council and the Sugar Law Center in Detroit have issued lawsuits arguing that Public Act 4 and Public Act 72 were one in the same and thus both should be repealed.

This coming election, voters in Michigan will have the chance to decide the fate of an important law that has affected the lives of many of the state's residents. This is an important part of the democratic process and its use here gives a substantial amount of power to the voters. Michigan's Emergency Manager Law, Public Act 4, is up for a referendum on the November 6th ballot this year. Public Act 4 allows the Governor to appoint an Emergency Manager to take over local governments in times of financial distress. This controversial law allows Emergency Managers to, among other things, disband unions and privatize prisons.

After over three months of investigation into Detroit’s finances, the State Treasury, through its Financial Review Teams, issued its final report to the Governor on March 26th. The report details the financial struggles of the city over the past six years and brings to light just how big of a hole Detroit has dug for itself. The final report is a key part of Public Act 4, the Emergency Manager Legislation. The Act stipulates that the Financial Review Team can come to one of four conclusions in its report based on its investigations and dealings with the city: 1) Mild or no financial stress, 2) Severe financial stress but with a consent agreement in place, 3) Severe financial stress with no consent agreement worked out, or 4) Financial emergency with no satisfactory plan (Emergency Manager recommended). In Detroit’s case, the Financial Review team stopped short of recommending an Emergency Manager to be appointed to the city, instead going with the third option of severe financial stress with no consent agreement.