Michigan’s executive leadership has set the stage for increased funding to battle the COVID-19 pandemic in the Great Lakes State through a major pair of supplemental budget bills to help fund the fight.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Mike Shirkey, Sen. Jim Ananich, Rep. Lee Chatfield, and Rep. Christine Greig issued a joint statement on the signing of two supplemental budget bills that provide $150 million in new state funding in the current fiscal year for the response to COVID-19.
This is the joint statement delivered this morning on the supplemental funding response:
“Residents across the great state of Michigan need to know that the Executive and Legislative branches of state government are working together to do whatever is necessary to ensure an effective response to COVID-19. Today’s signing of two supplemental budget bills will provide new state funding of $150 million to bolster response efforts. To date, the state has already expended more than $130 million to secure more than 20 million masks, more than 2,000 ventilators, nearly 9 million ounces of hand sanitizer, more than 255,000 boxes of gloves, 2.4 million gowns, more than 2,000 beds, 210,000 testing supplies, 3,000 thermometers, 185,000 face shields, 22,000 cartons of disinfecting wipes, as well as other needed supplies. The additional funding provided today, along with the supplies and funding provided by the federal government, helps ensure that Michigan has the necessary resources to save lives and slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The supplemental appropriations are contained in SB 151, sponsored by Sen. Jim Stamas, and HB 4729, sponsored by Rep. Shane Hernandez. The vetoes in SB 151, totaling nearly $80 million in the state’s General Fund, were agreed to by both branches of government so that funding could be re-prioritized for COVID-19.
