Gov. Rick Snyder signed a new emergency manager bill Thursday, 52 days after voters repealed a similar version of the law.
Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel confirmed to the Detroit News the replacement law is among 19 bills Snyder signed into law Thursday.
"These new laws recognize the vital importance of financially stable, economically vibrant communities to Michigan's future," Snyder said in a statement. "They also respect the needs of citizens and taxpayers by delivering greater oversight and efficiency. Our reinvention of government is delivering meaningful reforms that will keep Michigan on the path to prosperity."
The law was not granted immediate effect, so it won't go into effect for 90 days. The Legislature officially adjourned at noon Thursday.
In the Nov. 6 election, 2.3 million Michiganians voted to repeal Public Act 4 through Proposal 1, and the state temporarily reverted back to a 1990 emergency financial manager law that was seen as ineffective in fixing structural budget deficits for school districts and municipalities.
The 2011 emergency manager law was ridiculed as undemocratic because elected mayors, city councils and school boards were left powerless to make spending decisions. The replacement law gives local governments in financial emergencies more options than an emergency manager, said House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall.
"We listened to the voters and we wanted to make sure that the local communities were more empowered," Bolger said in an interview with The Detroit News. "You can eliminate the emergency financial situation. … You can't pretend that's not there."
