After battling it out for hours, the Michigan House and Senate came to an agreement at 3 a.m. Wednesday to protect unemployment as hundreds of thousands of Michiganders continue to struggle without jobs amid the pandemic.
The unemployment bill extends the maximum duration of jobless assistance from 20 weeks to 26. It passed unanimously in the House. A separate bill allows retirees to return to work at the state's unemployment agency help the beleaguered state workers process an overwhelming number of claims.
In addition to unemployment, legislators came to terms on more than a dozen bills that protected orders Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had put in place by executive order. Bills delay deadlines for license and state ID renewals and allow for electronic public meetings and electronic signatures during the pandemic.
The Detroit News reports the Legislature also approved several bills providing liability protections to health care workers, businesses and employees during the pandemic -- which was a major sticking point and one the Republicans had linked with unemployment legislation. Separate legislation passed to change nursing home policy on COVID-19 admissions and visits.
The House also passed a resolution giving a committee on the pandemic the power to subpoena witnesses and administer oaths in their review of the state's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
All sides in Lansing had agreed that unemployment benefits should be extended for the hundreds of thousands of Michigan workers unemployed right now, WWJ's Tim Skubick reports.
But there was a catch: Republicans linked the bill to another one that would grant limited immunity to businesses, universities and hospitals that may be sued for coronavirus exposure on their premises. Democrats and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer want the extension, but they don't want that lawsuit provision.
If the Republicans didn't break the link and a deal wasn't reached, the issue may have cost them votes in November, Skubick said.
"Pocketbook issues are top of mind for everyone. I don't think there is a voter in this state that would be paying attention to the way this resolves," said Rebecca Warren, adding that she believes Republicans would have taken the blame if a compromise wasn't reached.