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No. 134437
| Kent A. McNeil, Franklin E. Fisher, Roger Griffin, |
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Samuel J. Frederick |
| Scott Way, and Jeff Legato, |
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Plaintiffs-Appellants, |
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(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Charlevoix - Pajtas, R.) |
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| Charlevoix County and Northwest Michigan |
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Dennis M. LaBelle |
| Community Health Agency, |
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| Defendants-Appellees. |
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| __________________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiffs-Appellants' Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellee Northwest Community Health Agency's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellee Charlevoix County's Notice of Intent to Rely of Defendant-Appellee Northwest
Community Health Agency's Brief on Appeal>>
Michigan Association of Counties and the Michigan Association for Local Public Health's
Amici Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Townships Association Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
Northwest Michigan Community Health Agency is a multi-county district health department organized by Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties under Part 24 of the Public Health Code, MCL 333.2401 et seq. Acting under MCL 333.2441(1), Northwest Michigan adopted and approved a Clean Indoor Air Regulation, entitled “Regulation Eliminating Smoking in Public and Private Worksites and Certain Public Places.” The CIAR bans smoking in workplaces and imposes restrictions on businesses that provide designated smoking areas. It also prohibits employers from taking adverse employment action against a person who asserts the right to a smoke-free environment. The plaintiffs, business owners and other individuals who are smokers, filed a declaratory action, contending that the CIAR is preempted by the state’s Public Health Code. After a hearing, the trial court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for summary disposition, reasoning that the Public Health Code did not expressly or impliedly preempt local regulations, such as the CIAR, related to the same or similar subject matter. In a published opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling, reasoning that the Public Health Code expressly grants local health departments the authority to adopt regulations to safeguard the public health. The trial court had correctly ruled that the Public Health Code did not expressly or impliedly preempt local regulations, the Court of Appeals concluded. The plaintiffs appeal.
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