Whitmer To Regulators: You Must Consider Shutting Down Businesses Violating My Orders

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive directive Tuesday, telling state departments and agencies to make enforcing her COVID-related orders a priority. It also authorized the immediate closure and possible license suspension for businesses that do not follow them.

The executive directive also directs the Michigan State Police to enforce her executive orders as it would any other violation of law.

This directive states that any credible complaint about a business violating her orders must be referred to licensing authorities to be investigated.

It also requires that state department directors and agency heads allocate their resources to ensure they make enforcement of COVID-19 orders a priority.

The executive directive continues: “State department directors and autonomous agency heads must consider noncompliance with a COVID-19 executive order or epidemic order to be presumptive evidence of a ‘public health hazard’ or ‘imminent and substantial hazard to the public health.’ ... When the director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development becomes aware of a violation of law at a food establishment inspected and licensed by the department that would create an imminent and substantial hazard to the public health, including a violation of a COVID-19 executive order or epidemic order, the director must consider whether to order immediate cessation of operation under section 2113 of the Food Law, 2000 PA 92, as amended, MCL 289.2113(1).”