Michigan Governor Vetoes $220 Million In Unemployment Funding, Calling It A Tax Break For Big Business

Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a $106-million state COVID-19 relief bill into law Tuesday, which had major funding to a variety of COVID-related expenses removed via veto.

Whitmer vetoed $220 million of Legislative-approved funding that would have gone to the employer-owned Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, the Governor’s press release stated. That pool of funds is designed to help businesses fund benefits for laid off workers.

She supported her veto of those funds calling it a “giveaway,” and stating in the press release that, “General fund dollars must be used to fund essential services like vaccines and PPE, not to give tax breaks to big businesses.”

“This (bill) went too far, because it is really important that we use every precious General Fund dollar we can to help get through the crisis,” said Whitmer at a press conference held today.

She emphasized that the veto will not affect the ability of any unemployed worker to receive benefits. The money approved by the governor includes $55 million in small business survival grants, $3.5 million for entertainment venues hit hard by the pandemic and $45 million in payments to laid-off individuals.

Whitmer also reversed a $100 million negative appropriation in Medicaid funding, according to the Detroit News. Other line items vetoed were $5 million for a property tax deferral program and language that would have allowed some hazardous waste to be transported across the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario.

Whitmer also signed a separate bipartisan Senate Bill 604 extending unemployment benefits from 20 to 26 weeks for state residents who have lost work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (RELATED: Trump Backtracks On Threats, Signs Coronavirus Bill)