LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer is asking Michigan legislative leaders to work together to pass a $100 million COVID-19 relief plan for the state, as well as pass a permanent extension of unemployment benefits.
The Governor’s requests came in a letter dated November 25 to Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, Minority Leader Jim Ananich, House Speaker Lee Chatfield and Minority Leader Christine Greig.
In the letter the Governor says while they must advocate for “meaningful support from the federal government, we simply cannot afford to wait. It is crucial for us to come together now to pass a targeted, state-based economic stimulus plan of up to $100 million that will provide direct financial support to the families and small businesses that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.”
The Governor is also calling for the legislature to make permanent the extension of unemployment benefits to 26 weeks in Michigan. A temporary extension passed earlier this fall expires at the end of 2020.
Whitmer is also pushing the legislature to pass legislation she says will protect public health. That would include mandating the wearing of masks in public and
focusing state spending on direct public health costs like hospital overflow staffing, testing, PPE, and mitigating the spread of COVID in prisons and congregate care settings like veterans homes, adult foster care facilities, and nursing homes.
The legislature is expected back in session in Lansing Tuesday.
