Legislature finalizes plans to spend $880M in COVID relief funds
The state plans to spend the federally-approved funding on everything from healthcare to small businesses.
Michigan is poised to spend $880 million of federally-approved emergency relief money on small businesses, child care, unemployment insurance, and a number of other programs.
The state’s House of Representatives and Senate unanimously approved the spending plans Wednesday after reaching an agreement with Governor Gretchen Whitmer, according to an article in Bridge Magazine.
The plan would fund a number of priorities:
- $200 million to Michigan cities, towns, and villages
- $100 million toward a small business grant program
- $100 million grant program to fund hazard pay for emergency workers dealing with COVID-19
- $120 million to boost pay for healthcare workers
- $125 million to help fund childcare for essential workers
- $29 million for unemployment insurance and efforts to combat unemployment insurance fraud
- $18 million for school districts and charter schools to use for instructional recovery
The spending plan only utilizes about a third of the $3 billion allocated to Michigan as part of the federal CARES Act. The governor is asking the Trump administration to allow the state to use the remaining money to shore up the state’s budget, which faces a shortfall due to the pandemic.
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