By Jon King/jking@whmi.com


Citing expected steep drops in revenue, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today ordered a hiring freeze and put new reigns on discretionary spending.

During a morning press conference, Whitmer announced that she had signed supplemental spending bills to increase spending on the COVID-19 crisis by $150 million, while using her line-item veto powers to delete proposed items not related to fighting the pandemic.

The new restrictions apply to non-essential contracts, purchases, travel, training and other forms of discretionary spending. There will also be very limited exceptions to the state hiring freeze.

The governor says it's too early to know how the economic slowdown related to the virus will affect state revenue. But Whitmer says the impact is "is going to be real.” Michigan had nearly 5,500 cases of the coronavirus by Sunday and 132 deaths.

Whitmer also thanked all of the state employees who are working around the clock to protect Michigan communities from the spread of COVID-19.

Pictured are Gov. Whitmer, a sign language interpreter, and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun of the MDHHS.