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Rep. LaFave calls on governor and MIOSHA to end mask mandates, all COVID-19 restrictions for Michiganders
RELEASE|May 19, 2021

State Rep. Beau LaFave today called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to put an end to statewide COVID-19 regulations and requirements, urging her to reopen the state fully. LaFave also condemned the state’s plan to make pandemic-related COVID-19 rules permanent, including mandating vaccinated employees wear masks.

“Science has spoken, but it doesn’t come as much of a shock that our data-driven governor has yet to follow it,” said Rep. LaFave. “There is no justification for waiting until July to end capacity limitations, curfews, or limits on social gatherings. We all know the power has gotten to the governor’s head, because if it were truly about the science, these mandates would have been lifted already. Maybe the governor isn’t aware of every day Michiganders’ needs – because she’s too busy jet-setting across the country while simultaneously warning them against doing the same – but I hear from my constituents often enough to know they don’t care much for her rules, and they want to get back to normal now.”

On Thursday, the governor lifted the mask mandate for fully vaccinated people in the state of Michigan. Those who are unvaccinated are still required to wear masks indoors and other regulations remain in place for businesses and personal social gatherings. Whitmer’s administration has claimed the broad indoor mask mandate will expire July 1, but throughout the past fifteen months, the governor has continually expanded mask requirements.

The governor and state are working to make permanent many workplace COVID-19 rules, enforced through the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), including masks, social distancing, and plexiglass screens. MIOSHA’s current temporary restrictions expire in October, per state law, and cannot be extended without legislative approval.

“The governor was denied overreaching executive power after the Michigan Supreme Court found her orders unlawful last October, and now she is working with MIOSHA to further skirt state law to impose permanent mask mandates in the workplace,” said Rep. LaFave. “It’s incredible the lengths these people will go just to exert unnecessary power over Michiganders. The governor’s office also lied about Upper Peninsula legislators’ involvement in last month’s ‘Vacc to Normal’ reopening plan. We were given zero opportunities for input, whether the governor wants to openly admit it or not, but, if she’d like to take our input now, it is simple: toss the made-up metrics and reopen Michigan for business, just like our neighbors in Wisconsin have done successfully.”

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