LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- Tensions between the Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the GOP-controlled Legislature have ramped up over COVID-19-related emergency orders.
She says the state Department of Health and Human Services will start issuing more COVID-19-related emergency orders -- after the Michigan Supreme Court said she’s stretched the limits of her emergency powers.
The health department’s leadership reports to the governor, but the director has his own limited emergency powers to deal with a health crisis. And emergency orders have been issued dealing with COVID in schools, residential care, and juvenile justice facilities. The governor says more orders are on the way.
“The Legislature’s always been a deliberative body,” she said during an online news conference, “and that’s always been one of the issues in the midst of a crisis, having one person with whom the buck stops, and who can act nimbly when lives are on the line.”
Then Whitmer took aim at the Legislature and, specifically, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey’s opposition to mask mandates, which she says shows “a disdain for science.”
“Well, I think it is concerning that the top Republican in Michigan government is an anti-masker and doesn’t want to encourage and require everyone across the state to mask up.”
Republicans have scheduled session days with COVID-related legislation at the center of discussions. No specific plans have been agreed upon, but the Senate has scheduled a meeting Thursday, while the House has announced at least one day next week.
Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield released a joint statement that includes this:
“The exact legislative agenda has yet to be determined, but the House and the Senate are working together right now to review the governor’s numerous executive orders and determine which issues require immediate attention. While the governor spends her time on the campaign trail and taking jabs at legislative partners, we are putting together a smart plan of action to provide certainty to Michigan families and move this state forward.”
One area of possible agreement appears some kind of action to extend unemployment benefits for workers affected by the health and economic consequences of COVID-19. Whitmer said that’s something neither she nor a department she controls can address with an executive order.