Gov. Whitmer and GOP’s COVID-19 recovery plans differ by $1 billion, control of pandemic powers

(The Center Square) – Just over a billion dollars separate Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s and the GOP-led Legislature’s COVID-19 recovery plans, but they stand at odds with what matters most.

For Republicans, that means prying Whitmer’s pandemic powers away from shutting down schools and businesses a year after the crisis began while holding accountable billions in federal aid for the same purposes prioritized by the Whitmer administration and the legislature.

“This is a comprehensive plan that puts money where it’s needed most, that holds government accountable, and that helps struggling Michigan families, students, and businesses heal from a devastating pandemic,” House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clear, said in a statement.

The $4.2 billion GOP plan on Whitmer’s desk is as follows:

HB 4047, if enacted into law, would allocate $600 million toward food assistance, $547 million to COVID-19 testing, $110 million toward vaccine distribution, and $33 million toward mental health and substance use disorder grants.

HB 4047 ties roughly $350 million of federal funding for COVID-19 epidemiology and lab capacity funding to the enactment of SB 1, which would limit the state health department’s ability to issue emergency orders for more than 28 days without legislative approval.

After the Michigan Supreme Court on Oct. 2 tossed many of Whitmer’s pandemic powers, she turned to a decades-old law through her former state health director Robert Gordon to patch together similar orders.

HB 4048 seeks to allocate about $1.65 billion to schools based on a formula weighing district needs, $125.7 million in Federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds, and $170.2 million in state School Aid Fund money.

About $840.7 million of school district funding is tied to the enactment of HB 4049, which would prohibit the state Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) from closing schools to in-person instruction or banning school sports under a COVID-19 epidemic order.

The proposed legislation seeks to transfer authority from state government to local health departments. Furthermore, local health departments would be required to adhere to specific COVID-19 data benchmarks before halting in-person instruction or banning school sports.

Whitmer’s office didn’t respond to a request from The Center Square for comment or questions about her spending package. On Monday, Whitmer indicated she’ll reject at least part of the GOP spending plan, including provisions limiting her authority.

“They know that’s never going to happen,” Whitmer said in an interview on MSNBC, suggesting she aims to block parts of the Republican-backed COVID-19 recovery plan.

“For our legislature to play this dangerous game with resources we desperately need is really disappointing,” Whitmer said.

About $5.6 billion COVID-19 recovery plan features $2 billion to help schools return to in-person education and recover learning loss and a permanent extension of unemployment benefits from 20 weeks to 26 weeks.

Other than federal dollars approved from a December stimulus package signed into law by former President Donald J. Trump, $300 million would come from the state School Aid Fund, and $275 million would come from the General Fund.

“To help grow and strengthen our economy, we must provide crucial support for our families, small businesses and front-line workers,” Whitmer previously said in a news release. “The MI COVID Recovery Plan will help small businesses get through the winter, help us put more shots in arms and ramp up vaccine distribution, and get our kids back on track in school.”

Her plan features $90 million that Congress appropriated for vaccine distribution and $575 million to expand COVID-19 testing and tracing labs. About $225 million for programs at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. would go to grants for microenterprises, small business stabilization, and high-tech startups.

It also seeks to create an Office of Rural Development, rental and food assistance, and funding to waive penalties for property owners who didn’t pay their summer 2020 property taxes on time as a result of economic hardship created by the pandemic and Whitmer’s economic shutdowns.

Whitmer’s proposal would use $5 million to enforce a proposed weapons ban at the state Capitol, a request Republicans reject.

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