Whitmer unveils massive COVID-19 recovery plan, includes millions for jobs, schools

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a plan that she says will cripple COVID-19, get students back in schools and residents back to work. 

The ambitious proposal announced Tuesday, called the Michigan COVID Recovery Plan, relies on roughly $5 billion in federal funds already awarded to the state. In addition to providing grants for businesses and more money for school districts, Whitmer said the plan will:

• Help families in need of food, or assistance paying their rent or utilities with billions in federal funding
• Expand a tax incentive for businesses that relocate and grow in Michigan 
• Allocate $1 million to create a new office focused on the needs of rural communities, including anything from access to broadband Internet service to other infrastructure improvements 
• Use $22 million to offset and waive fines or fees for some property owners who failed to pay taxes on time over the summer because of the pandemic
• Provide funding for new job-training programs
• Establish a pilot program for 400 single parents pursuing higher education through existing state avenues
• Offer $5 million for a "Capitol security weapons ban," presumably funds to pay for the infrastructure needed to effectively ban guns at the state Capitol. 

The initial news release and Whitmer announcement notes hundreds of millions of dollars will go to school districts and toward vaccine distribution, increased testing, tracing and lab capacity. The governor and administration said money could be used to cover administrative costs and allow health departments to hire more people, but overall provided few specifics on how exactly funding will improve vaccine rollout or help schools get students back in classroom.

State business and education associations joined Democrats in heralding the plan, saying it provides the funding and proposes support through legislation needed to help struggling shops, workers and teachers. 

More:Michigan workers affected by COVID-19 can apply for money from state

More:Applications for MEDC small business relief grants of up to $20,000 open Tuesday

But Whitmer will need legislative buy-in from a GOP-controlled Michigan statehouse that has balked at and battled over previous requests for pandemic-related action. Before the actual details of the plan were released, a key Republican in the House blasted the proposal and the governor.

In addition to the federal funds, Whitmer still wants the Legislature to allocate $575 million in state funds. She also needs the Legislature to take action to allow the state to distribute federal dollars, something GOP lawmakers have threatened not to do unless the governor rolls back a state health order that bans indoor dining. 

"I know that the Republican Legislature would never want to stand in the way of making sure that these federal dollars get to our kids' schools, or to our ability to build up our apparatus to get people vaccinated. ... I know that the Republican Legislature wouldn't stand in the way of aid for businesses that are struggling right now," Whitmer said, speaking from Washington, D.C. during a virtual news conference. 

The governor is in the nation's capital so she can attend Wednesday's inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. She noted Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, both traveled to the White House last year to meet with President Donald Trump — and though the president would later say the meeting at least mentioned state election results, local legislative leaders argued they went to see Trump to discuss COVID-19 relief. 

"I'm sure that they wouldn't stand in the way of us putting these dollars to work, and run the risk of having the federal government pull them back. And so it's crucial that the action is taken," Whitmer said. 

Whitmer said the administration plans to send the plan to the Legislature on Wednesday. Lawmakers are not set to meet again until next week; leaders canceled session for this week after law enforcement cited credible threats of violence related to Biden's inauguration. 

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, renewed his criticisms of Whitmer's previous pandemic plans in a statement that criticized her latest proposal. Albert is the lawmaker who threatened to delay appropriating millions in federal funds until people are allowed to eat inside restaurants. 

“I am already working with my colleagues in the Senate on the best way to help Michigan’s recovery from COVID-19, including the distribution of the latest installment of critical federal COVID relief funding. These resources must be used more effectively and responsibly than the Whitmer administration has done so far during this pandemic," Albert said.  

"I will not hand the governor a blank check to continue mismanaging our state’s response to COVID-19. She has a poor track record with the money she’s already had available, and allocating more money without proper legislative oversight would be negligent.”

In a statement, Shirkey took a political jab at the governor but pledged to review her plan. 

“It’s good to see Gov. Whitmer finally come around and agree to policies and programs advanced by legislative Republicans over the past several months,” Shirkey said. 

“Senate Republicans will take a look at what the governor has proposed and see where we can make improvements."

More:Political battle leaves new Michigan jobless with 20 weeks of benefits instead of 26

More:Michigan indoor dining ban extended to Feb. 1, but indoor group exercise and some sports allowed

Why the governor says the plan is needed

The plan outlines how the governor wants to vaccinate more people, provide new and additional funding to small businesses and schools, feed those most in need and extend benefits for those unable to work because of the pandemic and related health orders. 

More:Michigan's economy could be permanently changed by COVID-19, economists say

More:Whitmer headed to Washington, DC for Biden-Harris inauguration

In addition to using federal funds to better deploy the vaccine, the plan includes $225 million for new economic development incentives and $300 million for schools to meet Whitmer's goal of everyone offering in-person classes by March 1. 

“These additional resources may make all the difference for downtown businesses. Our local restaurants, stores and services are the lifeblood of our communities and they’ve faced remarkable challenges these past 10 months by no fault of their own," said Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint.

"The governor’s actions today reaffirm our state’s commitment to supporting these vital small businesses as we fight our way through the tail end of this ruthless pandemic.”

However, any real health and economic recovery hinges on successfully vaccinating the broader public. Manufacturing, communication and administrative problems continue to hamper the rollout of available COVID-19 vaccines, although Whitmer and state health officials say procedures have greatly improved in recent days.  

As of Monday, the state had distributed more than 1 million doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to local health departments and hospitals. A little less than half of those doses — 487,959 — had actually been injected in people's arms as of Sunday, according to state data. 

More:Detroit got shorted on COVID-19 vaccines — but plan to vaccinate 1,000 a day still stands

More:7 COVID-19 cases associated with Washtenaw County woman who has UK variant

What's in the plan: business and school funds

While the state of Michigan has more money available than anticipated at times during the pandemic, the uncertainty businesses face because of the virus leads to difficulty predicting tax funding for the foreseeable future, experts recently said. 

Consumer spending and income taxes rose, aligned with a massive spike in unemployment benefits and the rise in online shopping. 

“Our economic recovery is highly dependent on getting the public health situation under control, and her actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic have improved our fiscal outlook. The MI COVID Recovery Plan will help us jump-start our economy," state Treasurer Rachel Eubanks said in a statement.

The governor's plan includes three initiatives backed with $225 million; the announcement did not specify whether this was new state funding or federal funds already approved. 

The plans are: 

• The Michigan Mainstreet Initiative: Grants for restaurants and other place-based businesses "to keep our Main Streets vibrant and our communities resilient."
• The Michigan Microenterprise Support Initiative: Funds for businesses with fewer than nine employees, "creating greater access to much needed support."
• The Business Accelerator and Resiliency Initiative: "Grants to high-tech startups that can help our communities thrive."

Several business leaders heralded Whitmer's announcement. 

“This plan addresses some of the major issues that must be overcome to win Michigan’s COVID-19 recovery: mitigating learning loss, rebuilding small businesses, attracting new jobs and upskilling our workforce. We’re encouraged by the proposed one-time investments for each of these priorities, and look forward to working with the governor and our state’s leaders to recover and get back on the path to becoming a Top Ten state,” Jeff Donofrio, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, said in a statement distributed by Whitmer's Office. 

More:Eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine? Michigan health departments say expect delays

More:Michigan business owners, economists optimistic about state's recovery in 2021

Throughout the fall, Whitmer called on the Legislature to approve more than $100 million in direct COVID-19 relief. The proposal passed in the House and Senate included grant programs from employees and businesses, both of which are now accepting applications. 

The business grant program allows industries specifically affected by pandemic-related orders issued in November to apply for up to $20,000. Individual grants of up to $1,650 are also available for workers in these industries. 

Whitmer and other Democrats have called on the Legislature to pass a law to permanently extend benefit eligibility to 26 weeks, and the governor renewed that call on Tuesday. 

However, she used her line-item veto authority to remove hundreds of millions of dollars from a bipartisan relief bill approved in late January. 

Whitmer argued the bill included $220 million in unnecessary state-sponsored handouts for businesses. Republicans in the Legislature said she hurt businesses with the move — they also used legislative procedure to tie that funding to a proposal that extended how long someone could receive unemployment benefits. 

Because of this maneuver, when Whitmer vetoed the funding she also essentially nixed a proposed 26-week benefit extension. State law allows someone to receive unemployment benefits for 20 weeks per claim, but Whitmer used executive orders to extend that to 26 weeks at the beginning of the pandemic. While the governor and lawmakers worked together to keep that extension in place through the end of 2020, GOP legislative moves and Whitmer's veto combined to end the extension for claims filed this year. 

While the plan includes millions for schools, it is a bit vague as to how the money will be used. Whitmer said it is needed to achieve a previously stated goal of allowing schools to offer in-person class for every student by March 1. 

State teacher and school administrator associations thanked the governor for the plan. 

“We have to embrace that some students need more funding in order to equitably meet their education needs, and this plan is an important step in doing so,” said David Hecker, president of the AFT Michigan teachers union.

“This includes, but is not limited to, the federal government’s investment in Title 1 funding that is putting significant resources into helping at-risk students whose learning is being disproportionately harmed amidst this pandemic."

Contact Dave Boucher: dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.