Businesses disappointed, but not surprised by Gov. Whitmer’s business property tax relief veto
(The Center Square) – A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the small business community said it was disappointed but not surprised when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed more than $650 million from the GOP’s COVID-19 relief plan, including $405 million to give tax relief to small businesses shuttered by her orders.
Whitmer vetoed four line-items: $405 million in business relief; $150 million deposited into the unemployment fund; $87 million for private schools; and $10 million for parents whose kids enroll in summer school, according to the Associated Press.
The fate of $840 million in federal school funding attached to a bill Whitmer vetoed is also uncertain.
The veto follows one of the worst years in decades for the hospitality industry as Whitmer’s shutdowns closed indoor dining for more than 75 days in the last year, limited capacity to 25%, and still stuck them with a property tax bill leading to more than 3,000 restaurants permanently closing in 2020.
The House attempted an immediate override vote, which failed as Democrats flipped votes, falling short of the two-thirds support needed.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said it’s disappointed with Governor Whitmer’s line-item vetoes of business property tax and fee relief.
“Any amount of relief to small business is important, but the bigger issue is the crippling damage caused by the extended closure and restriction orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS),” NFIB Michigan State Director Charlie Owens said in a statement. “That is why it is important that any negotiation with the governor includes the limitations on these orders found in Senate Bill 1.”
SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton, would limit MDHHS’s ability to issue emergency orders for more than 28 days without legislative approval and will likely be tied to some of the federal funding in HB 4047 and be passed by the House this week.
Whitmer has claimed support for releasing COVID-19 funds, but although small business support wasn’t tied to her relinquishing pandemic powers, she vetoed it anyway.
Members of the state’s business community have indicated they want a return to government with typical checks and balances.
“The governor’s powers to issue executive orders have already been limited by the Michigan Supreme Court,” Owens said. “Any negotiations with the legislature must include specific time limits on MDHHS, or any state agency, closure or restriction orders that then require legislative approval to continue beyond that limit.”
State Rep. Rodney Wakeman, R-Saginaw Township, said the veto also hurt laid-off Michiganders and job providers by rejecting $150 million deposited into the unemployment fund.
“The governor also rejected funding we set aside to provide relief for laid-off workers and struggling job providers,” Wakeman said in a statement. “These measures had nothing to do with her gubernatorial powers, and she vetoed them anyway – dealing another devastating blow to the pocketbooks of the struggling families and local businesses who have already been pushed to the brink by the governor’s harshest-in-the-nation restrictions. It is very possible she just took away the last hope of survival for some. She owes the people of Michigan an explanation.”
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