The state Senate will meet tomorrow. This will be the first time lawmakers return to the Capitol since a Michigan Supreme Court opinion. It declared Governor Gretchen Whitmer exceeded her authority by continuing to issue COVID-19 emergency orders.
First the Senate and then the House will meet on consecutive days to adopt their own plans and send them to Whitmer to sign or veto. One possible area of agreement could be extending unemployment benefits for people who lost jobs due to COVID-19.
Whitmer’s asked the Supreme Court for another decision explaining when the ruling takes effect. But her administration has not waited either. The state Department of Health and Human Services has issued its own orders that continue many of the governor’s mask and social distancing requirements. Many Republicans say Whitmer’s efforts to get around the Supreme Court’s determinations are also illegal, and could become part of the bargaining.