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COVID-19 relief bill on its way to Governor Whitmer

Michigan Capitol Building - Lansing by Lord is Good is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

The Legislature wrapped up its 2019 and 2020 session on Monday. One of its final acts was House approval of a $465-million-dollar budget bill to provide assistance to workers, businesses, and hospitals affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

This was the final step before sending the bill to Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The bill includes a pay boost for workers on the front lines of dealing with COVID-19; funding to help with vaccine distribution; and an extension in unemployment benefits for workers idled due to the health crisis. There’s also money to help struggling small businesses.

These were tough negotiations, with the only point of agreement between Republicans and Democrats being no one is entirely satisfied with the final product.

State Representative Abdullah Hammoud is a Democrat from Dearborn, who voted for the bill.

“Although this a step in providing relief, I want to caution my colleagues from believing this is a enough.”

Democrats say more help for renters and making prisons safer for infected inmates should be high on next year’s priorities list.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer released a statement praising the bill. She also called for more help from the federal government.