LANSING, MI. – (WTVB) – State Representative Eric Leutheuser joined fellow legislators on Tuesday in voting to extend Michigan’s State of Emergency, and the gubernatorial powers that come with it, until May first because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But legislators turned down Governor Whitmer’s request to extend the State of Emergency by 70 days until the middle of June.
The State of Emergency declaration is not the same as the current “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order which is scheduled to expire next Monday. Whitmer is expected to extend that order sometime this week in a separate action.
Leutheuser said in a statement released by his office that he could not in good faith support extending emergency gubernatorial powers into the middle of June because they simply don’t know what the situation will look like in a few weeks from now let alone in 10 weeks.
He felt it was best to approve a shorter window and extend it later if the need is still there.
Whitmer felt a shorter extension would necessitate bringing lawmakers back to the Capitol, “during the apex of the outbreak,” exposing them to the disease.
