UP Gazette

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a new $2.3 billion COVID-19 spending plan, while also rejecting a Republican Legislature proposal of $652 million and a bill limiting her powers during the pandemic, according to reporting by Bridge Michigan.

While the $2.3 billion spending plan is not even half of the $5 billion federal funds that were sent to Michigan, the plan does include $110 million for vaccine distribution, $150 million in direct care worker pay raises, $283 million for emergency assistance programs for families and $1 billion for schools. 

Whitmer vetoed a $405 million Republican small business relief proposal that would give businesses tax and fee breaks. She had previously proposed $225 million in business grants, but this was rejected by the Legislature.

Rep. Thomas Albert | Michigan House Republicans

“The bills I received were not negotiated with me or my administration, and I continue to call on the Legislature to ensure that we work together to ensure we maximize every penny that is available,” Whitmer said, according to Bridge Michigan. “There were problems in the bills that I had to veto, and I expect the Legislature to step up to fix the bill to allocate all of the money so we can get back to normal as soon as possible.” 

Republicans are accusing Whitmer of turning her back on the very businesses needing the most relief after the pandemic. 

“This desperately needed assistance was not tied to any other measure or condition in the relief plan -- yet the governor vetoed it anyway, and with it, she is killing off whatever hope struggling families and job providers had left,” House Appropriations Chairman Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) told Bridge Michigan. 

Whitmer also rejected $150 million to assist the employer-funded Unemployment Insurance Fund, $87 million in relief for private schools and $10 million in grants for parents to cover summer school expenses. 

Whitmer said she had vetoed proposals for these programs before, and her decision to do so this time resulted from a lack of negotiations between her and Republicans in the Legislature. As it stands, unspent federal funding is open for more negotiations. "Majority leaders are furious she has continued to impose COVID-19 restrictions without their direct input," Jonathan Oosting of Bridge Michigan says. 

Republicans sent Whitmer a $4.2 billion plan last week, and she sent back a plan that cut the proposal down to $3.5 billion, leaving approximately $1.2 billion "in limbo" while the governor's lawyers review legalities attached to the plan by the Legislature. 

Budget Director Dave Massaron has requested a meeting with House and Senate appropriations chairs to talk about spending plans and the future of more federal funds potentially coming into the state from the $1.9 trillion federal COVID-19 relief package. 

“The items that were vetoed in the recent set of bills sent to us by the Legislature represent key points of difference between us, but it does not represent an unwillingness to work together,” Massaron said, as reported by Bridge Michigan. “If we can get together in a room and discuss our common goal to help the people of Michigan, I believe we can come to an agreement on putting the remaining federal dollars to work for our state.”