Michigan governor signs $106M COVID-19 relief bill

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed into law a 106 million dollar bill that will provide relief to businesses and fund efforts to fight the economic impacts of the coronavirus. Under the legislation signed on Tuesday, the Michigan Strategic Fund will receive 55 million dollar to distribute survival grants of up to 20,000 dollar to small businesses that were forced to close and grants of up to 15,000 dollar if the businesses partially closed.

The relief bill also allocates 3.5 million dollar for grants of up to 40,000 dollar to help entertainment venues and 45 million dollar in payments to workers who were laid off during the pandemic. At a news conference on Tuesday, both Whitmer and the state's chief medical executive said they are encouraged that Michigan's rate of new COVID-19 cases continues to drop.