Michigan House passes bills aimed at limiting Whitmer s power
The Michigan House of Representatives voted shortly after midnight Friday to repeal a law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used to issue sweeping safety regulations and business restrictions at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was one of two measures supported chiefly by House Republicans that aims to restrict what the governor and the state health department can do in a time of crisis. While both measures are likely headed to Whitmer s desk, it is unlikely she will sign either.
The House voted 57-43 to repeal a 1945 emergency powers law, a portion of code that drew the ire of opponents to Whitmer s executive orders but one the governor and her supporters argued helped save lives. It voted 59-44 on a separate bill that would limit the length of emergency orders from the state health department without legislative approval and prohibit pandemic restrictions on religious institutions.
The Michigan Department of Corrections reached a grim milestone this week, surpassing 100 prisoner deaths associated with COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, 103 people incarcerated at the state s 29 prisons have died since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Michigan ranks second for COVID-19 prisoner deaths per capita after New Jersey s prison system, according to the Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom that’s tracking infections in state correctional facilities across the country.
Those who ve succumbed to complications of the virus while incarcerated include a juvenile lifer who was weeks away from freedom after nearly 44 years in prison. There was a 74-year-old woman who d sought relief from a life sentence, and a man whom relatives described as the glue that kept his family together from behind bars.
While the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine is a shot in the arm for Michigan residents, many small businesses are still awaiting any injection of public financial aid that may help them stave off closure.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer acknowledged during a news conference Tuesday that restaurants unable to offer in-person dining are hurting. She would not say whether the state planned to extend the ban on indoor eating at restaurants, but she reiterated her support for legislative action that would potentially provide $100 million in economic relief for those businesses that need it the most. This is a really crucial time that people need some help. I stand ready to sign a bill that gives them that help. But I can t send it to myself. It s on the Legislature to get it done. It s my fervent hope that they do that before they take a break, Whitmer said.