LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Even during the COVID 19 situation, Governor Whitmer continues to apparently be confounded by the state Legislature.
The first-term Democrat from East Lansing had wanted the House and Senate to pass a concurrent resolution extending her Emergency Powers during the outbreak, which was set to expire Tuesday, another 70 days.
Whitmer said during a Monday press briefing that a shorter extension would necessitate bringing lawmakers back to the Capitol, “during the apex of the outbreak,” exposing them to the disease. However Tuesday, the Republican-controlled House & Senate approved only a 23-day extension to the end of April, which coincides with the current Presidential “social distancing” recommendations during the pandemic.
Freshman Representative Greg VanWoerkom of Norton Shores, who had sent a letter late last week asking for more transparency about the impact of the outbreak from the Executive Branch, said that, “We cannot accurately predict a state of emergency well into the middle of June as the governor has proposed. Evaluating the outbreaks a few weeks at a time will allow for much-needed flexibility and help maximize our efforts to stop the spread of COVID 19 in Michigan.”
The Governor said Monday that she would announce whether she would extend the current “Stay Home, Stay Safe” statewide Executive Order later this week, presumably waiting until the Legislature acted on her 70-day Emergency Powers extension.
During her first year in office, Whitmer clashed with legislative Republicans over the budget, leading to 147 line-item vetoes when she signed the fiscal 2020 spending plan last September 30th, averting a state government shutdown, and was critical of lawmakers for taking a scheduled recess last summer while the budget process was ongoing.
