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Unemployed Michiganders can get an extra six weeks of benefits under a bipartisan bill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Tuesday.
Whitmer signed Senate Bills 886 and 991 codifying part of her now-void executive orders expanding unemployment benefits to Michiganders from 20 to 26 weeks until the end of the year.
The Michigan Supreme Court on Oct. 2 ruled the 1945 law from which Whitmer derived her emergency powers as unconstitutional because it unlawfully delegated legislative powers to the executive branch.
The state’s top court recommended the first-term Democrat work with the legislature to enact laws to protect Michiganders.
Whitmer urged the GOP-led legislature to make the benefits permanent.
“These bipartisan bills are an important step in providing immediate relief for working families, but given the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Michigan, I urge the legislature to take further action to make this permanent,” Whitmer said in a statement.
“40 states, including all of our neighbors, automatically provide at least 26 weeks of unemployment relief. Michiganders deserve better than a short-term extension that expires at the end of the year. It’s time to work together on a long-term solution for working families.” (AP)
