Governor still hasn’t signed COVID stimulus

On December 22 state lawmakers passed a bill that would send much needed financial relief to people suffering during the coronavirus pandemic. A full week later, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has yet to sign the bill, which allocates $465 million to a range of support priorities.

A spokesperson for the governor said her office is still reviewing the bills before she gives them her approval.

Ironically, Whitmer has been pushing the legislature to pass some form of COVID stimulus for over a month. She also publicly criticized President Donald Trump for not immediately signing federal stimulus legislation. Trump finally signed those bills on Sunday.

Tiffany Brown, a spokesperson for the governor, told MLive that the state’s stimulus bills weren’t fully negotiated with the governor’s office before they were passed.

“Because of that, our team is going through a careful legal and policy review,” she said. “This is a standard procedure for bills that haven’t been negotiated.”

The state’s stimulus would fund everything from the unemployment system to grants for live entertainment venues closed during the pandemic.

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