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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Below you will find information on what’s going on in Michigan to help mitigate COVID-19, how to help small businesses, how to pre-register for a vaccine appointment in Genesee County, and more. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office by phone at (517) 373-3906 or email at TimSneller@house.mi.gov for questions about this or any other state-level issue.
In This Edition:
- Michigan Restaurants and Bars Reopen for Indoor Dining – Feb. 1
- Pre-Register for Vaccine Appointments in Genesee County
- Michigan COVID Recovery Plan
- FREE Fishing Weekend – Feb. 13-14
- Helpful Resources
Michigan Restaurants and Bars Reopen for Indoor Dining – Feb. 1
Restaurants and bars will be allowed to reopen this Monday, Feb. 1 for indoor dining at 25 percent capacity and with a 10:00 p.m. curfew. I’ve been working with the administration to increase capacity to 50 percent. Customers must wear masks except when eating or drinking and follow social distancing guidelines. You can also choose to order ‘takeout’ to continue helping these small businesses. Please find an outline of the specific updates above.
Pre-Register for Vaccine Appointments in Genesee County
As you are probably aware, Genesee County is experiencing a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines. I encourage you to pre-register for an appointment for the vaccine through the Genesee County Health Department website at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GCHDCOVIDAPPTRQST. By re-registering, you will be contacted later to schedule an appointment to get the vaccine. Also, Meijer pharmacies statewide are helping administer vaccinations. To find out more and register, visit: https://clinic.meijer.com. Senior citizens and those without computer access can call their local senior citizen centers or the Valley Area Agency on Aging at (810) 600-0617 to register by phone. In the 50th House District, there’s the Burton Senior Center at (810) 744-0960 and the Grand Blanc Senior Center at (810) 695-3202. For more COVID-19 vaccine information, please visit Michigan.gov/COVIDVACCINE.
Michigan COVID Recovery Plan
On Monday, Jan. 19, Gov. Whitmer announced the launch of the Michigan COVID Recovery Plan aimed at growing our state’s economy and helping to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on three pillars – public health, jobs and economy, and education – please continue to read below for more information on the Michigan COVID Recovery Plan. I look forward to working with the Governor and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to further protect public health and jumpstart our economy as we progress through 2021.
Public Health:
Vaccine Distribution
Michigan is ready to ramp up vaccination distribution, which will help us get back to normal as quickly as possible. At the end of 2020, Congress appropriated $90 million in additional resources for vaccine distribution in Michigan through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Gov. Whitmer’s plan will use this federal funding to bring Michigan closer to our goal of 50,000 shots in arms per day. This funding appropriated by Congress will help provide financial support to local health departments for vaccine administration costs, including staff augmentation, as well as provide necessary equipment and supplies. Michigan will also receive $575 million to expand COVID-19 testing, tracing and lab capacity across our state.
Jobs and Economy:
Support for Small Businesses
As part of the governor’s MI COVID Recovery Plan, $225 million will be provided for three new programs from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), including:
- The Michigan Mainstreet Initiative to help stabilize our state’s small business community by securing grants for restaurants and other place-based businesses to keep our Main Streets vibrant and our communities resilient.
- The Michigan Microenterprise Support Initiative will help Michigan put small businesses with less than nine employees on the path to recovery by creating greater access to much needed support.
- And the Business Accelerator and Resiliency Initiative will provide grants to high-tech startups that can help our communities thrive.
Good Jobs for Michigan
Gov. Whitmer has called on my colleagues and I in the Legislature to pass Good Jobs for Michigan to help our state retain and grow businesses and create jobs. The Program provides crucial tools to create jobs and foster a thriving economy; Pfizer was the first business to utilize it and did so to build a sterile drug manufacturing plant and create 450 good-paying jobs in Portage. This same plant shipped the first doses of the safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine across the nation at the end of last year.
Unemployment Benefits
The Recovery Plan includes another call on my colleagues and I to put forth legislation that would permanently extend unemployment benefits from 20 to 26 weeks in the state of Michigan. This action would bring our state in line with 40 other states and provide the hardest-hit Michigan workers with the financial security and peace of mind they need and deserve.
Food Assistance
As of the 2019 fiscal year, one in eight Michigan residents received food assistance. Gov. Whitmer’s COVID Recovery Plan will provide greater support for families through food assistance so more Michiganders can afford to put food on the table for themselves and their families.
Rental Assistance
The federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program will provide the state of Michigan with funding to assist households that are unable to pay rent and utilities due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The governor’s plan will allocate this federal funding in order to help more Michiganders stay in their homes.
Office of Rural Development
The governor will create an Office of Rural Development that will be tasked with coordinating work across state government to address issues facing rural communities, including broadband, talent, infrastructure and more. Grants will also be included to provide infrastructure and capacity support in rural communities, and support for land-based industries.
Property Tax Assistance
Gov. Whitmer’s plan includes funding to waive penalties and interest for certain property owners who did not pay their summer 2020 property taxes on time as a result of economic hardship created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Talent
The MI COVID Recovery Plan will provide targeted employment and training services through the Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) to connect unemployed and underemployed Michigan residents with training and resources necessary for gainful employment. The program will prioritize residents from underserved or economically distressed communities to provide them with the skills needed for entry into registered apprenticeships in the energy sector to help drive Michigan’s energy transition.
MI Reconnect & Futures for Frontliners: Wraparound Supports
The Recovery plan includes a pilot providing wrap-around supports for up to 400 single parents who participate in the Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners programs. Participants will receive on-campus childcare, intensive personalized advising, educational supports including tutoring, career counseling and assistance in transitioning to a 4-year school.
Education:
Schools
As part of the recent actions from the federal government, Michigan was allocated nearly $1.7 billion through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund). The governor’s MI COVID Recovery Plan will allocate this federal funding, along with an additional $300 million in state dollars, to help schools meet the governor’s goal of providing every student with an in-person learning opportunity by March 1, and to help address the learning loss that has occurred due to the pandemic. These one-time, flexible dollars will be distributed through a formula that recognizes the additional costs associated with supporting students in poverty and students with special education needs.
With as quickly as things change, I know that this can be a confusing time for all of us. Be sure to regularly check www.Michigan.gov/coronavirus and www.CDC.gov/coronavirus for the latest information. If you have additional questions about what the state is doing to mitigate the spread of the virus you can call Michigan’s COVID-19 Hotline at (888) 535-6136 seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or email COVID19@michigan.gov and your questions will be answered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
FREE Fishing Weekend – Feb. 13-14
The 2021 Winter Free Fishing Weekend is taking place on February 13-14! Residents and non-residents alike can fish Michigan waters that weekend without a license, though all other fishing regulations still apply. For more information, please visit Michigan.gov/FREEFISHING.
Helpful Resources
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