Michigan House Democratic Leader: “You Can’t Undo the Public Health Code in the Budget”
State House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski reacts to news that some local health departments are rescinding their mask mandates due to controversial budget language.
Earlier this week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the $70 billion 2022 fiscal year state budget into law. FY22 is considered historic in part for its $1.4 billion child care provision, aided by federal pandemic stimulus funds.
“When we put the people of Michigan at the center of the conversation, we were able to do some pretty incredible things.” –State House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township
The budget also includes $14 million in funds set aside for local governments to respond to extreme weather events and coastal erosion. State House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township, acknowledges that amount doesn’t come close to the billions of dollars needed for Metro Detroit alone to address flooding. She also responds to news that some local health departments are now rescinding their masks mandates due to controversial language in the state budget, which has since been struck down by Whitmer.
Listen: Michigan State House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski on historic FY22 budget provisions.
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State House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township, represents Michigan’s 52nd House District. She says the 2022 fiscal year budget was a bipartisan effort. “When we put the people of Michigan at the center of the conversation, we were able to do some pretty incredible things.”
The $1.4 billion included for education and child care could provide aid to 105,000 more children in Michigan. “This is going to be a transformational change for our economy in Michigan,” says Lasinski.
However, Lasinski criticizes “boilerplate” provisions added by banning local mask and vaccine mandates. That language has been deemed unenforceable and unconstitutional by Whitmer. But local health departments have since falsely claimed they’re still being forced to end their mandates because of that budget provision. “The language about masks is purely political,” says Lasinski. “This has happened in nearly every budget. And every time it has been declared unenforceable and unconstitutional… You can’t undo the public health code in the budget.”
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