Listen to this article

On Wednesday, Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state legislature have agreed on a budget proposal. The proposal includes language banning health officials from enforcing mask mandates in schools and preventing state public agencies from enforcing vaccines on employees or customers. The 1,000-page budget states in one section and says, “The director or local health officer shall not issue or enforce any orders or other directives that require an individual in this state who is under the age of 18 to wear a face mask or face covering”. The language could mean that health officials’ mask mandates for K-12 students in areas such as Oakland and Wayne counties could be null and void.

Instead, mask mandates would be left in the hands of school boards and districts. Whitmer has indicated she will sign the budget in time for the Oct. 1 deadline, when the new fiscal year starts. Click on Detroit reported that Oakland County Executive David Coulter said, “The governor has demonstrated that she believes that local health departments and local school boards should be involved in these decisions. I agree with that and any opportunity to remove us from that would be a huge mistake, and I would certainly hope that she would not support that”. The $70 billion budget deal would also prevent Michigan public agencies from enforcing vaccine mandates on employees and customers.

The budget deal allocates $2.2 billion in higher education funding, $50.7 billion for state agencies and programs, and $17.1 billion for the school aid budget. Whitmer issued a statement and said, “I am thrilled that the legislature and I were able to come together to agree on a bipartisan budget. Our collaboration is a testament to what’s possible when we work together and put our families, communities, and small businesses first”. The budget comes after Whitmer faced criticisms for her handling of the pandemic last year, including enacting some of the strictest lockdown orders in the country. Point to be noted that large protests formed in Lansing last year, with one protest seeing people carrying rifles and other long guns into the state capitol building and shouting at legislators overextended stay-at-home orders.