WHEREAS, Section 1 of Article V of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 vests the executive power of the State of Michigan in the Governor;

WHEREAS, Section 2 of Article V of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 empowers the Governor to make changes in the organization of the executive branch or in the assignment of functions among its units that the Governor considers necessary for efficient administration;

WHEREAS, under Section 2 of Article V of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the executive and administrative offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of state government and their respective functions, powers, and duties, must be allocated among and within not more than 20 principal departments and shall be grouped as far as practicable according to major purposes;

WHEREAS, the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries was created as the twentieth principal department of state government under Section 3 of the History, Arts, and Libraries Act, 2001 PA 63, MCL 399.703, following an unsuccessful attempt to create a Department of History, Arts and Culture under Executive Order 2001-1;

WHEREAS, the essential functions of the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries can be efficiently performed by other principal departments in state government;

WHEREAS, abolishing the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries will assure more efficient use of taxpayer dollars;

WHEREAS, it is practicable and necessary in the interests of efficient administration and effectiveness of government to change the organization of the executive branch of state government and to reduce to 17 the number of principal state departments;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, by virtue of the power and authority vested in the Governor by the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and the laws of the State of Michigan order:

V. MISCELLANEOUS

A. The State Budget Director shall determine and authorize the most efficient manner possible for handling financial transactions and records in the state's financial management system, including, but not limited to, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.

B. All rules, orders, contracts, and agreements relating to the assigned functions lawfully adopted prior to the effective date of this Order shall continue to be effective until revised, amended, or repealed.

C. Any suit, action, or other proceeding lawfully commenced by, against, or before any entity affected under this Order, shall not abate by reason of the taking effect of this Order. Any suit, action, or other proceeding may be maintained by, against, or before the appropriate successor of any entity affected under this Order.

D. The invalidity of any portion of this Order shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the Order, which may be given effect without any invalid portion. Any portion of this Order found invalid by a court or other entity with proper jurisdiction shall be severable from the remaining portions of this Order.

In fulfillment of the requirements of Article V, Section 2 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the provisions of this Executive Order are effective October 1, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.

History: 2009, E.R.O. No. 2009-26, Eff. Oct. 1, 2009 ;-- Am. 2009, E.R.O. No. 2009-30, Eff. Nov. 12, 2009 Compiler's Notes: Sections II.B.4., II.B.8., II.H.7. and IV.A., as enacted by E.R.O. No. 2009-26, were amended by E.R.O. No. 2009-30. Section II., as enacted by E.R.O. No. 2009-26, was also amended by adding subsection P. These sections reflect the amended and added text; all other text remains as originally enacted.