FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENews from Progress Michigan
July 15, 2021
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
Republican Legislators Jam Through Unpopular Attack on Whitmer
MIGOP needs to stop wasting time and get to work on policies that matter
MICHIGAN – On Thursday, the Republican-controlled state Senate opted to pass the Unlock Michigan initiative rather than let voters decide on the issue at the ballot box. The petition drive originally took aim at an emergency powers law that granted the governor’s office more control over state policy in special circumstances—a law that has already been overturned in court and is no longer in effect.
“Michigan Republicans are proving yet again that their number one priority is taking pointless jabs at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,” said Sam Inglot, deputy director of Progress Michigan. “While Michiganders are dealing with flood damage, inadequate infrastructure, and countless other very real problems, Republican lawmakers are wasting their time on a pointless gesture to score political points. Their move to ram through this proposal also continues a longer trend of the MIGOP using and abusing the petition drive process to pass extreme and unpopular policies, including their decision to repeal the prevailing wage without letting Michiganders vote at the ballot box and the ‘adopt and amend’ strategy they used to keep minimum wage and earned paid sick time off the ballot in 2018. The bottom line is that the MIGOP has the wrong priorities for our state. It’s time for them to drop the useless political games and get to work on policies that will actually strengthen our communities.”
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