Paul Egan | Detroit Free Press

Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press

LANSING — Republican lawmakers may be violating the state constitution with fast-tracked bills in the lame-duck Legislature that curb the powers of incoming Democratic officeholders or water down proposals backed by Michigan voters, legal experts say.

"They're just going crazy," said Robert Sedler, a Wayne State University law professor.

Sedler, who has taught at Wayne State since 1977 and wrote a book on American constitutional law, cited a range of problematic bills — from a package the Senate passed Thursday to strip enforcement of campaign finance laws from the secretary of state to one that restricts the incoming governor's choices to head the Michigan State Police, and bills that meddle with legislation and constitutional amendments backed by Michigan voters.

Robert Killips | Lansing State Journal

"In the 40 years that I've been here, I have not seen any such effort to curtail the powers of the governor and the executive branch," Sedler told the Free Press Thursday.

While there is no consensus among attorneys, several agree that at least some of the lame-duck bills are open to legal challenge, including:

House Bills 5526, 6314, and 6315: Each bill provides for a 13-member Education Accountability Policy Commission, which would have authority over public schools. Sedler said it would violate the powers set out in the constitution for the State Board of Education, which has "leadership and general supervision over all public education," with the exception of higher education.

House Bill 6553: Would give each chamber the power to intervene in lawsuits involving the state. Currently, it is up to judges to decide who has "standing" in a court case. Sedler said the bill clearly infringes on the power of the judicial branch and also on the executive powers of the governor, as executed by the attorney general. Devin Schindler, a law professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, disagreed, saying the Legislature is "taking advantage of the state judiciary's lax standing rules," and there is a precedent because lawmakers earlier passed a law giving the attorney general the right to intervene.

Senate Bill 1107: It would restrict the governor's power to appoint a director of the Michigan State Police by limiting the choice to officers already employed by the department who have served for at least 15 years, with at least five years at the rank of lieutenant or higher. Sedler said the bill would infringe on the constitutional powers of the governor, and Schindler agreed it would appear to do so.

Senate Bills 1248-52: Would strip campaign finance enforcement from the secretary of state and turn it over to a six-member commission. Sedler said it infringes on the executive powers of the governor, as carried out by the secretary of state. The Legislature could repeal all campaign finance laws if it chose to, but it can't dictate how existing laws should be enforced, which is an executive function, he said.

Senate Bills 1238-40: Would affect the Promote the Vote constitutional amendment intended to increase voter access, which was approved by voters in the November election. The bills tweak a provision that allows a person to register to vote up to the day of the election to add more proof of residency and citizenship. Sedler said that under the provisions of the Michigan constitution no legislative vote — by a super majority or otherwise — can change a voter-approved constitutional amendment.

Senate Bill 1210/House Bill 6530: Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, said this week he was retreating on a Senate bill that would overrule local communities and allow a 500-acre gravel mine in Metamora. But Casperson's change of position was after Gerald Fisher, a law professor at Cooley Law School, testified at a Senate committee that the bill would violate a section of the state constitution that no person shall have the right to use roadways without the approval of local elected officials. The fate of the House bill is still unknown.

Senate Bills 1171 and 1175: The bills, which have passed both chambers and been sent to Gov. Rick Snyder for signatures or vetoes, would water down voter-initiated proposals to hike the minimum wage and require employers to provide sick pay. The Legislature adopted both proposals earlier this year, which kept them off the November ballot, with the intention of then going back and weakening the measures during lame duck. Republican Bill Schuette, the current attorney general, said it is OK to amend a voter-initiated bill in the same session it is adopted. Former Attorney General Frank Kelley, who held the job for 37 years, said earlier it is not OK. Sedler said he agrees with Kelley. Schindler said he agrees with Schuette.

In general, Schindler disagreed with Sedler's position that many of the lame-duck bills are unconstitutional. He said Michigan is mostly witnessing "sharp politics," not an assault on the state constitution.

Critical to many of the legal issues is the "separation of powers" wording of the state constitution, which Sedler said is much more rigid than equivalent language in other state constitutions, and generally makes it unlawful for the Legislature to curb the powers of incoming officeholders in the executive branch. It divides state government into the legislative, executive and judicial branches, and says: "No person exercising powers of one branch shall exercise powers properly belonging to another branch, except as expressly provided in this constitution."

Other lame-duck bills run afoul of the rights guaranteed to Michigan citizens through constitutional provisions to initiate legislation and constitutional amendments, he said.

All GOP-sponsored bills flagged by Sedler or other attorneys were reviewed by legal counsel in the House and Senate, according to GOP caucus spokespeople in the two chambers.

Whatever the legality of the bills, many of them have created anger among voters who see them as attacks on what citizens decided in the November election. There have been large protests at the Capitol and disruptions of legislative committee hearings.