LANSING — Today, House Republicans rushed through House Bill 6553 to allow the Legislature an absolute right to intervene in court proceedings, effectively undermining the power of the attorney general's office and ignoring the will of the voters who elected Attorney General-elect Nessel last month. In response to its passage, state Rep. Scott Dianda (D-Calumet) issued the following statement:
“It’s no mistake that the Michigan constitution lays out the specific duties of each branch of government to prevent any of them from overreaching their authority. This bill is an unprecedented power grab that does nothing but undermine the separation of powers at the core of our democracy. We were sent to Lansing to legislate, not waste taxpayer money litigating cases we have no business being in. If the framers of the state constitution wanted to give the Legislature the absolute right to intervene in whatever case it chooses, they wouldn’t have created an attorney general.”
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