Great Lakes Wire

If you are a state employee in Michigan who is designated as "nonessential," state Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Stamas (R-Midland) wants you to be laid off or reassigned to save the budget amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Stamas said on his website that he is "extremely worried" about the impact of the pandemic and the "excessively restrictive" lockdown order issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will have on the state's budget.

“We are facing a serious financial challenge, and we need to consider all options to adjust our spending -- such as cuts to popular programs and laying off nonessential state employees, including those in the Legislature,” Stamas said in his news release. "The state is doing everything it can to address the global COVID-19 pandemic, but we also must soon make the hard decisions to address its tremendous impact to our economy and state budget. The longer we wait to act, the deeper the cuts will need to be."

Whitmer's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order was extended through the end of May, as Michigan reported the third-highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the nation.

"We must continue to do everything we can to slow the spread and protect our families," Whitmer said on Michigan.gov. "Data shows that most Michiganders are doing their part by staying home and staying safe. That's good, but we must keep it up. When we do, we can save lives and shorten the amount of time we’re working through this crisis, which will be good for our families and good for our economy in the long run. We can also protect critical infrastructure workers like doctors, nurses, grocery store employees and child care workers. Now more than ever, it’s crucial that people stay home and stay safe."

The state's treasury department estimates an impact this year of between $1 billion and $3 billion and "another $1 billion to $4 billion hole in next year's budget," Stamas said on his website.

Stamas also suggested the nonessential state employees receive essential assignments.

"I encourage the governor to deploy nonessential state employees to assist with unemployment claims, instead of hiring more people, and lay off any nonessential workers who cannot help people file unemployment claims," he said in his news release.

That notion comes shortly after the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency announced it would hire hundreds of workers to handle the record-breaking number of claims filed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.