LANSING, Mich. (Great Lakes News) – The 1945 law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used as the basis of her never-ending lockdown orders is dead after the Legislature approved the Unlock Michigan petition drive.

The Unlock Michigan petition drive, which collected more than 500,000 signatures from Michigan residents, secured the victory in the State House on Wednesday.

MORE NEWS: Jan. 6 Protester Jake Lang Came to Dearborn Looking For A Fight; He Found Condemnation

Now the group is looking to limit the reach of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

The 1945 law the Legislature repealed on Wednesday is the same one the Michigan Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional on October 2, 2020. It also ruled Whitmer’s use of 1976 Emergency Management Act could not continue past 28 days without legislative approval. That law remains on the books.

Gov. Whitmer ignored the Michigan Supreme Court ruling and three days later announced she’d be using MDHHS as the conduit for her executive orders. Whitmer cited an obscure 1918 Spanish flu law which lead to her continued executive orders which shut down face-to-face learning at schools, mandated masks for toddlers, and kept restaurants at limited capacity for months.

The signature approval of the Unlock Michigan petition drive also hit the skids in April. The Michigan Board of Canvassers, the group in charge of determining whether enough valid signatures had been collected, deadlocked along party lines instead of approving the measure.

Unlock Michigan took the matter to court. Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court heard the case and ordered the Board of State Canvassers to certify the petitions. The board approved the signatures on July 13, which kicked the veto-proof initiative to the Michigan Senate and House. The Senate voted to pass the initiative first, and the House followed on Wednesday.

Rep. Michele Hoitenga (R – Manton) wrote on her Facebook page, “The [Unlock Michigan] citizen led initiative just ended indefinite unilateral governing by any governor. I hope to see the end of unilateral governing by unelected bureaucrats soon.”

MORE NEWS: ICE Activity Briefly Puts Clarkston Schools on Hold

State Rep. Steve Johnson (R – Wayland) echoed his colleague. He wrote, “Hopefully we have more of these citizen led efforts in the future so we can continue to bypass the Governor’s veto on good legislation.”