Ann Arbor Times

In a Facebook post from early May, Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) criticized Governor Whitmer's veto of much-needed extended benefits.

"This morning, Gov. Whitmer vetoed a bill that would have extended: expanded unemployment benefits, protections for health care workers, child care access, distance learning while schools are closed, prohibitions on evictions. Why would Gov. Whitmer stand against this commonsense legislation?" Theis wrote on Facebook.

MLive says Whitmer promised to veto the legislation that would have shortened some of her controversial executive orders.

Senate Bill 858 would have changed Michigan’s Emergency Management Act of 1976. The amendment would have set deadlines on many of Whitmer’s executive orders, which would have allowed struggling businesses such as restaurants, bars and gyms to reopen on May 15. However, social distancing and other safety measures would have still been in place.

Originally, the bill incorporated a stipulation to shorten the amount of time a governor can proclaim a state of emergency without approval from lawmakers -- from 28 days to 14 days. However, that stipulation was removed from the final version of the bill and was approved by the Legislature.

Whitmer wrote a veto letter suggesting that the bill goes against recommendations from public health officials. She added that the bill doesn’t allow governors to address emergencies and pointed out that the bill would be useless, since it wouldn’t take effect until 2021.

“I will not sign any bills that constrain my ability to protect the people of Michigan from a deadly pandemic in a timely manner,” Whitmer wrote, according to MLive.

Whitmer and other Michigan lawmakers are engaged in intense debate about the governor’s emergency powers. Lawmakers claim that there should be more checks and balances regarding Whitmer's executive power. 

“I have received thousands of calls and e-mails from concerned people about the governor’s executive orders,” Rep. Matt Hall (R-Marshall) said on the Michigan House Republicans website. “People want to know when they can go in for a preventative surgery or why a particular region of the state must remain closed, if the amount of cases are low compared to other regions. If the Legislature is not allowed to be a part of this process, it is difficult for those concerns to reach decision-makers. That’s not an effective way for our state government to operate.”