Kalamazoo Times

Two Republican state legislators are questioning whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recent veto of whistleblower protections indicates she does not want those who see mismanagement in government to come forward.

Rep. Matt Hall (R-Marshall) and Sen. Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton) both questioned Whitmer’s motives for killing legislation intended to protect those who are spurred by their conscience to come forward, according to the Michigan House Republicans website.

Senate Bill 686 was sponsored by state Sen. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) and would have prohibited any state agency from going after a state employee who shared a concern with a member of the Legislature.

Rep. Matt Hall | Michigan House Republicans

There was no opposition to the bill in either the state House or the state Senate, according to the release. It cleared both chambers with unanimous votes.

Yet Whitmer stopped the bill from progressing past her desk.

“I’ve personally heard from state employees who said they have been discouraged from talking with me,” Hall, who chairs the Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic and the House Oversight Committee, is quoted by Michigan House Republicans. “This gives important protections to state workers who have information on wrongdoing in state government, and those protections allow them to come forward with that information so state government can be held accountable."

Hall said that the protections afforded by such a bill would be blind to party, giving state workers the opportunity to speak out, regardless of the current governor's political party and regardless which party holds the majority in the Legislature.

“It is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic because the Whitmer administration has made so many decisions without the input of the Legislature or the public,” Hall told Michigan House Republicans. “Because legislators are the voice of people they represent, it’s vital to have this line of communication open and free of reprisal.”