Latest news with #SusanJ.Demas
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Army Corps of Engineers greenlights public comment period on Line 5 tunnel
The Mackinac Bridge in the Straits of Mackinac, May 27, 2024 | Susan J. Demas Enbridge Energy's controversial Line 5 tunnel project will move forward to a 30-day public comment period after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday released a draft environmental impact statement, which did not clear the project of all and potentially significant environmental concerns raised by activists and lawmakers opposed to the pipeline and its proposed tunnel. The proposed plan is to construct a 3.6 mile tunnel under the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac that would house a replacement segment of Line 5. The pipeline consists of two 20-inch diameter pipes that are buried in sediment near the shore and rest on, or are anchored to, the lakebed of the Stratis, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. Enbridge's aim is to have that tunnel approved for permitting by the federal government through the Army Corp's review process. It is their preferred alternative to no action from the Corps, which the company has said could result in less environmental security and certainty. Other alternatives include bolstering the tunnel with protective materials or the decommissioning of the pipeline altogether, which is what Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel set out to do shortly after they entered office in 2018. Enbridge called the release of the impact statement and opening the public comment period a significant milestone for the project. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'It is the result of more than five years of rigorous and comprehensive permit review and stakeholder engagement including input from Tribes and is a critical step forward in planning a project that will modernize energy infrastructure, protect the Great Lakes, and ensure long-term energy reliability for Michigan and the broader region,' said Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy. 'We appreciate the extensive technical work that went into this document and the opportunity to contribute detailed responses to numerous data and information requests – demonstrating our commitment to transparency and environmental, social and cultural responsibility.' Duffy added that it was Enbridge's goal for the proposed tunnel and the existing line to have 'the smallest possible environmental footprint.' 'The tunnel design already reflects that intent, and we will use the USACE's findings from the [impact statement] to further refine the project,' he said. Some activists who have fought against the continued operation of the line said this week that more work was needed to prevent the project from moving forward, while others said were disappointed in the state's efforts to shut down Line 5. Andrea Pierce, founder of the Michigan Anishinaabek caucus and policy director at the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, said Michigan needed to have good, clean, safe water for them to drink, to fish, to hunt, to gather. Those were also the hallmarks of the treaty rights granted to Tribes in Michigan. Pierce was critical of Whitmer's actions thus far. 'Governor Whitmer has done some things. She has [attempted to] shut them down. She revoked their easement. But that's it,' Pierce said. 'What else is being done? It's operating illegally. That pipeline for years now [has been] operating illegally. They're still making a profit off of us, off of Michigan citizens. They are making a profit, these Canadian companies, that needs to stop.' Enbridge initially filed to apply for permits to build the tunnel in April 2020. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working on the draft economic statement since then. In April, the Corps said its evaluation would move forward on a shortened timeline following an executive order from President Donald Trump. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms Line 5 tunnel review to move forward under shortened timeline Meanwhile, the existence of Line 5 and its continued operation has been fought out in a winding legal battle that remains active even as the project hit a milestone of forward progress on Friday. Public comment on the project will end on June 30. Virtual public meetings are scheduled for June 18 and June 25, and comments will be collected online or through written submissions, which can be mailed to 6501 Shady Grove Road, P.O. Box 10178, Gaithersburg, MD 20898. The impact statement released Friday factored in many rounds of previous public comment and input from Tribal organizations, as well as analysis of the project plans and potential alternatives. The upshot: Enbridge's tunnel project could have numerous consequences for land ownership and land use, land and water-based recreation, water resources, area aesthetics and air quality, as well as biological, cultural and soil resources. As to the cultural resources affected, construction and operation of the tunnel would have adverse effects on archaeological sites and an existing archaeological district. Each of the activities associated with construction were listed as events that would destroy archaeological resources within the project footprint. Impacts to Tribal treaty rights were not noted in the report, but the Corps said those issues would be determined in its decision materials following the new round of public comment. A change of land ownership might be necessary at certain laydown areas as Enbridge would have to purchase land within the sites or acquire temporary or permanent easements. Direct, long-term and permanent detrimental impacts were associated with the project, the Corps said, as it related to undeveloped forest land that would need to be transformed into industrial sites, permanently altering the geology along the proposed tunnel site. Direct and detrimental effects to nearby recreational sites were noted due to the noise and aesthetic impacts of construction. Those impacts would likely end when construction was completed, however. Groundwater could be affected, but aquifer testing along the tunnel alignment site showed the surrounding aquifer would recover in a matter of days following construction. There is, however, concern for the potential release of drilling fluids and other contaminants associated with onshore material storage and the use of heavy equipment. That said, the Corps noted that those impacts would also end once construction ceased – but with a heavy caveat that the construction contractor would have to adhere to a spill plan and monitor onsite and nearby well water for up to two years following completion. To that end, surface water could be greatly affected by the project, as it would disturb the Straits during the installation of a water intake pipe. Approximately 20,000 gallons of drilling fluid – consisting of water and bentonite – would be released. The features would be removed following construction. The turbidity and sedimentation in the area would be affected on a limited basis in the work area, but direct and detrimental impacts were noted to surface water adjacent to the construction site due to erosion and sedimentation. An adherence to mitigation measures as a part of any approved permits would alleviate some of those concerns, and any long-term increases in stormwater would be managed by a permanent stormwater system. Again, the Corps noted detrimental impacts associated with the unintended release of contaminants like equipment fuel. Vegetation and wildlife disturbances in the area were also listed as factors, the latter of which would come from blasting activities during site preparation and the presence of workers in wildlife areas. The loss of approximately eight acres of habitat for protected species was noted, which would require ongoing coordination with the federal government and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Air quality would also be disturbed during construction, and proposed ventilation fans would add to noise nuisance, but only on an intermittent basis. The possibility of harmful emissions were noted to be significantly higher with Enbridge's proposed version of the tunnel project compared to an alternative that includes a gravel and protective rock cover. The reliability of the tunnel and its safety assurances were also analyzed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but the report noted that the possibility of a catastrophic anchor strike, which could potentially release oil into the Great Lakes, would be eliminated with the presence of a tunnel. Decommissioning the line also carried some potential localized and short-term consequences, the Army Corps said. Reactions to the project's forward progress were mixed, at best. Great Lakes Michigan Jobs – a business coalition composed of the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Grand Rapids Chamber, economic development organization InvestUP and the Upper Peninsula Construction Council – said in a joint statement issued Friday that they were ready to support the tunnel project as the public comment period commenced. The group also said that it was time to grant the project its permits to build the tunnel. 'Line 5 is an important piece of energy infrastructure for the continent, providing Michiganders with critical light crude and propane extracted from Canada,' Brian Shoaf, vice president of Public Policy and Business Advocacy with the Detroit Regional Chamber, said in a statement. Josh Lunger, vice president of government affairs with the Grand Rapids Chamber, said the tunnel wasn't just an energy project, it was a strategic infrastructure investment. 'Across the entire state, we count on Line 5. It powers our businesses, our job sites, and even our homes,' Lunger said in a statement. 'The Army Corps has been reviewing permit applications for more than five years. It's time to grant the permits.' Those who have been opposed to the project have said for years that the pipeline is a danger to the Great Lakes and the Straits of Mackinac. The tunnel project, in their view, would not alleviate the environmental concerns, but only stands to exacerbate them. As lawmakers and business leaders met for the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference this week on Mackinac Island, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who gave a speech to the conference Thursday night, so too did activists gather to express concerns over Line 5. Ahead of the governor's annual speech, protesters marched through downtown Mackinac Island, where they planned to rally outside the Grand Hotel for a press conference denouncing the tunnel project. The protesters, however, were turned away at the bottom of the hill approaching the hotel by a person who said he was there on behalf of the hotel. The man informed the protesters that the sidewalks and roads leading to the hill were private property owned by the Grand Hotel. That did not deter the protesters from being heard, even as they were diverted away from the hotel. 'Governor Whitmer has stood up for the Great Lakes and all of us before, by revoking Line 5's illegal easement, but her work isn't done,' said Beth Wallace, the Great Lakes climate and energy director at the National Wildlife Federation. 'Now, Enbridge wants to blast and drill through the Great Lakes for years just to extend [the] life of a pipeline that will soon reach 80 years old and has already spilled at least 35 times. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes business network and regional experts confirm the project is absolutely not needed,' Wallace added that decommissioning Line 5 was 'the only honorable path forward, and means we're honoring treaties and public trust, supporting domestic energy supplies and alternatives, creating more jobs in decommissioning, avoiding noticeable price increases, and it's important to notice we are paying for the tunnel.' 'Those price increases are going to happen in the rates that Enbridge is already setting,' Wallace said. 'The proposed tunnel isn't about safety or providing our communities with energy, it's about Enbridge's profits.' Michigan Advance reporter Kyle Davidson contributed to this report. This story was updated to reflect that the correct name is the Michigan Anishinaabek caucus.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
A program that works directly with shooters in Lansing is finding success — and police support
Lansing Police| Susan J. Demas This story was published in partnership with The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence. The first fatal shooting of the year in Lansing, Michigan, was solved quickly. All four alleged shooters in the drive-by killing of 21-year-old Jaivion Husband on January 27 were arrested the same night. The circumstances around the men involved in the shooting were complicated; three of the four were fellows with Advance Peace, a violence intervention program that was launched in Lansing in 2022, after initial hesitation from law enforcement. The fellowship is designed to keep people who have been engaged in shootings away from situations like these through concentrated mentoring, daily communication, job opportunities, skills development, and monthly stipends. After the suspects had been arrested, Paul Elam, a criminologist at the Michigan Public Health Institute who helped bring Advance Peace to town, visited the fellows. One of them, a 19-year-old who had been with the program since the beginning, broke down in tears, telling Elam that he knew getting into the car that night was a mistake. 'He told me, 'I let you down, I should have called,'' Elam recalled. 'They let somebody influence them to hop in the car and go do something. He was able to articulate that he was changing his behavior, but he had this moment where he didn't do what he knew was right.' The tragedy reminded the leaders that a moment is all it takes. The fellows 'have so much coming at them daily,' Elam said. 'You don't know what they're being pressured to do.' In the two-plus years since Advance Peace came to Lansing, gun violence in the city has dropped by 52 percent, according to police data, and community activists, along with law enforcement, are pointing to the program's success. The program isn't perfect, some city leaders acknowledge, but it is making long-term strides to accomplish mutual violence prevention goals. Residents in Lansing said the actions taken by the police, including a focus on repeat offenders and illegal firearms, have also played an important role. To sustain the city's progress, police officers and community workers are navigating the streets carefully — cooperatively, but independently. Since its inception in 2010, Advance Peace has been effective in other cities including Richmond, CA and Rochester, NY. Unlike other national anti-violence organizations, this one doesn't focus on geographical areas, victims of shootings, or people who could potentially get involved with gun violence. Instead, their violence interrupters identify people through information from family members or others plugged in on the streets who are shooters — people often unknown to the police. Once they identify the shooters, they enroll them in an 18-month fellowship program, during which they work directly with community violence interrupters, or credible messengers, who check in on them multiple times a day. In Lansing, one interventionist works with as many as five fellows at once. 'If a shooting occurred this week, nobody's going to talk to the police, but they're going to talk to our people,' said Elam. 'The target population for us is folks who are engaged in gun violence, who are evading law enforcement and the justice system.' Throughout the mid-to-late 2010s, shootings in Lansing weren't concentrated in specific areas; gun violence was more sporadic and random, especially across the south side of the city, where 60 percent of the population lives. No particular demographic or age group was overrepresented among perpetrators or victims, a reflection of the city's relative progress in addressing the historic segregation that still dogs nearby cities like Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo. That all changed after COVID-19 hit and retaliatory conflicts worsened between different groups on the southwest and west sides — neighborhood beefs, escalated on social media during lockdowns, turned into shootings. Shootings in Lansing increased by 80 percent between 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the city notched the highest number of homicides ever, with 25. 'It was lawless. A lot of young men were engaging in this back-and-forth, cyclical gunfire, and you had kids dying,' said Michael Lynn, a local activist who runs The Lansing Empowerment Network and The Village Lansing, two organizations focused on addressing and providing wrap-around services to those most affected by gun violence. 'When the pandemic happened, it was like a bomb went off in the city.' Shootings in Lansing have been in decline since the peaks of 2021, similar to national trends and the result of strategic work by community groups and law enforcement after the surge in youth violence. Though the program now receives widespread praise, when Advance Peace was first introduced in 2021 as a potential option for tackling the worsening crisis, Police Chief Robert Backus said the model didn't 'sit well' with his colleagues. 'There was skepticism about how it focused on people you knew were your priority offenders,' Backus said. Marlon Beard, a credible messenger with Advance Peace, said at first 'everybody was looking at it like, 'so you guys gonna pay shooters and sponsor them to buy them guns.' I think that was just ignorance of not really sitting down to do your research.' Once law enforcement and city leadership were educated about the mechanics of the program, they became more receptive to it, Beard said. During a recent event on the Michigan State campus, a handful of fellows, along with the credible messengers, learned about financial responsibility and entrepreneurship through an exercise led by Archie Hudson, a local business owner in Lansing. On the streets, these kids are often treated as — or posture as — adults, but in this setting, as they asked inquisitive questions and answered with 'yes, sir' and 'no, sir,' their age was apparent. Some were just 13 or 14. More importantly, they were comfortable around the credible messengers and other leaders of Advance Peace, the result of a hard-won trust. 'We never involve the police. Every conflict we've had resolved doesn't involve the police,' said DeAndre McFadden, one of the credible messengers, as they're called, who is working for the program. 'They know they can't infiltrate the situation the way we can. So far, the police have respected our space and our work.' Though Advance Peace doesn't share any information with the police, a key reason the organization retains its credibility, the authorities provide Advance Peace with regular shooting data and a list of names of people they believe to be involved in gun violence. 'It's almost like we're running parallel to each other, like we both have the same goal, which is no more violent incidents,' Chief Backus said, noting that the priority of police is enforcement and accountability. 'We have an obligation to represent victims, and if someone is our suspect, we have an obligation to put that person in front of a judge.' Despite the success of recent efforts, distrust between residents and the Police Department persists. That distrust stems from a decade of police shootings in and around Lansing, and a lack of transparency from the department on how the investigations progress, community leaders said. Since 2020, there have been four officer-involved shootings in Lansing, which has a population of roughly 112,000, and all of the cases were deemed 'justifiable.' By comparison, in the 10 years before 2020, there were four. In the most recent case, in December 2023, officers shot and killed Stephen Romero, a Hispanic man, after they were called for a domestic dispute. 'How can we create real positive relations when all of this is consistently going on,' asked Lynn, the local activist. Backus acknowledged that police shootings erode progress, and since they've happened more frequently since 2020, it's been difficult to rebuild trust. 'When they're happening so often in a short time, it doesn't give us time to repair those relationships,' he said, adding that unsolved homicides and people's unwillingness to speak to the police also hurt officers' credibility in the community. 'Ain't nothing changed,' said Beard, the Advance Peace worker, referring to the tense relationship between the community and law enforcement. 'The same way we get looked at as Black men — because one Black man did something, we all did it — that's kind of how we view the police.' One of the fellows with the program said if the police ever tried to talk to him, he'd 'just walk away and not say anything.' Over the last few years, the department has tried to put more emphasis on developing trust in the community by hosting more events, getting in front of active local groups, and being more visible in struggling areas. It has also focused more on firearms access. But the road to strategic cooperation is long. That's why activists, residents, and police agree that Advance Peace is crucial. A recent study of the program revealed some promising data, showing that over 90 percent of the fellows no longer use guns to resolve their conflicts. Yet just as the program is beginning to show its worth, the city is in jeopardy of losing it, as it's funded in large part by community violence interruption grants from the federal government that were terminated in April by the Department of Justice, leaving cities like Lansing scrambling for alternative funding sources. Some groups have joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration to restore the funding. DeVone Boggan, who is originally from Lansing and founded Advance Peace in Oakland, California, in 2010, said the recent funding issues are another example of why local cities and counties need to include funding for community violence intervention work in their fiscal budgets. 'That local infrastructure must budget for CVI practices,' Boggan said. 'That's the only way to sustain the work.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan Department of State: 200K REAL IDs issued in past few months
A Secretary of State branch office in East Lansing, Michigan | Susan J. Demas The push to get Michiganders' identification cards replaced with federally-compliant REAL ID cards has resulted in 200,000 IDs issued to residents over a period of three months, the Michigan Department of State announced Friday. Department employees either issued new or upgraded REAL IDs over the past 12 weeks, bringing the state into more than 76% compliance with a new U.S. requirement for REAL ID in order to travel domestically by air. A REAL ID is a driver's license or state identification card that has been verified with proof of U.S. citizenship and proof of legal residence in the U.S. They are distinguishable by the gold star in the upper right-hand corner. Per a change in federal law, Michigan residents as of May 7 are required to present a REAL ID-complaint card when attempting to fly anywhere in the U.S. The IDs also allow entrance to certain federal facilities as allowed by federal law. Overall, the IDs have protections against copying or altering identification information. REAL IDs are different from Michigan's enhanced IDs and driver's licenses, which allow entry to and from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean by land or sea. Enhanced IDs, however, are also REAL ID compliant. A news release issued Friday said Secretary of State branch offices served more than 90% of those customers within 20 minutes of their scheduled appointment times, signaling that the transition has been relatively smooth thus far. 'The hardworking staff at our branch offices throughout the state rose to this challenge and set a new standard of exceptional public service,' Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement. 'I'm grateful for their dedication and commitment to excellence, which ensured a smooth process for Michiganders during a potentially disruptive transition. This is what it means to have a state government that truly works for people.' A total of 202,571 REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses or state IDs were issued between February 23 and May 17. The week of May 4 was said to be the busiest this year, with 28,289 identification cards converted to REAL ID. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate passes sexual assault statute of limitations extension; Hall noncommittal on House action
Michigan Senate | Susan J. Demas Sexual assault survivors gained support from the Michigan Senate on Tuesday with the passage of bills to allow more time in filing civil lawsuits against their assailants, but it remains unclear if the Republican-controlled House plans to take up the bills. The upper chamber voted 25-9 to pass the five-bill package sponsored by Democratic Senators Kevin Hertel of Saint Clair Shores, Sam Singh of East Lansing, Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor, and Veronica Klinefelt of Eastpointe. Together, the bills would give survivors of sexual assault or other criminal sexual conduct a 10-year window after a crime was committed, with a cutoff at the age of 42, or within seven years after discovering an injury or some other connection to the misconduct, or whichever is later. Survivors can file lawsuits to recover damages sustained from the criminal sexual conduct, which could be brought in court at any time if there was also a criminal conviction involved with the assault. Sexual abuse survivors again ask Michigan lawmakers for more time to sue perpetrators Regardless of the limitations listed in the package, the bills would allow a survivor who was victimized before the package's effective date to file a lawsuit for damages within one year after the effective date. In that case, a claimant could not recover more than $1.5 million. Other bills in the package would remove the existing 10-year statute of limitations, exempt claims to recover damages for criminal sexual conduct from the existing permanent prohibition on bringing a claim against the state, and would amend the state's government immunity law in various ways – including removing the immunity from tort liability for a public university, college or school district whose employee engaged in the misconduct while working there if the institution was negligent in hiring, supervising or training that employee. The same is true if the institution knew about the abuse and failed to intervene. In a statement, Hertel said survivors of sexual assault have for too long been denied their day in court and silenced by 'arbitrary deadlines and a system that failed them.' 'No more,' Hertel said regarding the Justice for Survivors package. 'At their core, these bills are about justice, accountability, and finally giving survivors the voice they deserve. With this legislation, we are shattering that silence and making it clear: Michigan will no longer be a place where assault is ignored and abusers get to walk free to continue their cycle of harm.' Michigan over the last several years made national headlines due to high-profile sexual assault or abuse cases, including the abuse perpetrated by the Larry Nassar scandal at Michigan State University and Robert Anderson at the University of Michigan. Attorney General Dana Nessel also spearheaded investigations into the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of American in Michigan during her tenure, which exposed abuses across generations. The making of a monster McMorrow said in a statement that Michigan's justice system needed to be reformed to a position of protecting survivors and not shielding abusers. 'With the passage of this legislation out of the Senate, we're one step closer to securing the access to justice that survivors deserve,' McMorrow said. Irwin in a statement touted the legislation's removal of immunity for large institutions to empower survivors 'to speak their truth and pursue justice that they deserve.' Klinefelt in a statement also noted that power institutions have shielded perpetrators while abuses happened under their watch. The bills would no longer allow those institutions to hide behind legal immunity when survivors come forward. 'We're ending that with this legislation and are restoring trust, delivering justice, and making sure survivors' voices are not easily swept under the rug.' The bills now move to the House, but it's unclear if they'll get traction in the Republican-controlled chamber. In a Tuesday news briefing, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) appeared noncommittal on taking the bills up in the House. He also noted that his Democratic colleagues tried to pass similar legislation last session, but the effort died in a disastrous lame duck session that saw several key Democratic priorities grind to a halt. 'I haven't looked at it, but I think the idea of extending statutes of limitations for decades, or whatever it is, that creates a lot of questions, a lot of legal problems,' Hall said. 'We'll look at it. I haven't seen it, but you didn't see the Democrats move it when they were there, so it must have a lot of problems.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. Supreme Court won't hear lawsuit seeking to roll back Michigan voting rights measures
U.S. Supreme Court | Susan J. Demas The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a lawsuit filed by nearly a dozen Michigan Republican lawmakers seeking to roll back voting rights measures passed by voters in 2018 and 2022. The suit, filed in 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, argued that because the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution, found in Article I, Section 4, provides for state legislatures to regulate the times, places, and manner of holding federal elections, measures passed by citizen-led petition initiatives are unconstitutional as they infringed on the state Legislature's role within state election law. The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to take the case was the third, and now final, rejection after the lawsuit was initially dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, in April 2024 for a lack of standing, a decision which was then affirmed by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2024. The lawsuit was sponsored by Michigan Fair Elections and the Great Lakes Justice Center and named Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Michigan Director of Elections Jonathan Brater as defendants. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Benson hailed the decision not to take up the case as a 'victory for the people of Michigan,' saying the U.S. Supreme Court had correctly upheld the right of Michigan voters to amend the state constitution. 'In recent years, voters in Michigan have overwhelmingly supported ballot initiatives to create a citizen-led independent redistricting process, to guarantee at least nine days of early voting for every statewide election, and to make voting more accessible for every eligible citizen. Today's action ensures that the will of the voters will stand on these and other issues important to the people of our state,' Benson said. Proposal 3 of 2018 and Proposal 2 of 2022 both passed with at least 60% of the vote and guaranteed the rights to same-day voter registration, nine days of early voting, absentee voting, among other rights. After voters approved the constitutional amendments, the Legislature passed legislation implementing the measures. The suit sought not only to halt the changes brought on by the voter-passed initiatives, but also prohibit the future use altogether of citizen-led petition initiatives when they pertain to state election law. 'We also have procedures in place at the state level to amend election law,' state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater), one of the 11 lawmakers who filed the suit, said at the time. 'However, these processes were violated in 2018 and 2022 when an alternative amendment process was used without regard to federal constitutional requirements. This lawsuit challenges recent attempts to subvert our constitutional process and will protect against such actions in the future.' The legal argument behind the lawsuit, known as the independent state legislature theory, was mostly rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2023 when it ruled in Moore v Harper. In that case's 6-3 majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that there were limits to state legislative power in such matters, effectively repudiating the claim that only state legislatures had the power to make election rules, thus providing state and federal courts, and by extension, state constitutions, a role in that process.
