State employees receive, on average, a higher annual salary than private sector workers. A state representative wants them to get a little something extra.

Rep. Kara Hope, D-Holt, has introduced a bill in the Michigan House of Representatives that would use taxpayer funds to give state employees a $2,000 bonus.

House Bill 6091 was introduced May 10, along with House Resolution 291, sponsored by Rep. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac. The resolution says, in part, “State employees have shown incredible resilience and dedication to serving Michigan taxpayers during the COVID epidemic.” Holt’s proposal would cost taxpayers $196 million.

The average annual salary of a state employee in Michigan is $71,924. With benefits included, each state employee costs the taxpayer $128,018 on average, according to the Michigan Department of Civil Service. The average annual wage of a Michigan worker in the private sector is $59,463, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is 21% less than the average salary for state employees.

At the height of the pandemic, 58% of the state’s 49,000 employees worked from home, according to MIRS News. There were 1,178,021 people receiving unemployment insurance payments in the state in May 2020. That was two months after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used an executive order to force so-called nonessential businesses to close, in the name of “flattening the curve.” The average unemployment rate in 2020 increased to 10%.

Hope and Carter did not respond to an email seeking comment.

A group representing Michigan school district wants more time to spend the COVID windfall schools have received.

Michigan schools have received $6 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money as of April 15, and at least 78% of it remains unspent. That’s $4.64 billion. The money came in three separate categories, each with its own deadline for how quickly it must be spent. Some school districts are having a hard time spending it quickly enough and have called for federal officials to grant an extension.

Education Advocates in West Michigan, an advocacy group of 43 school districts, has asked members of Michigan’s congressional delegation to extend the deadline for one tranche of money to 2026. The group cites construction delays and says more time will allow schools to sidestep some rising costs. Some of the money is specifically aimed at improvements to school heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Another category of spending is called “School Facility Repairs and Improvements to Reduce Risk of Virus Transmission.”

The first pot of federal COVID money granted to Michigan public schools contained $350.4 million, which must be spent by Sep. 30. Nearly all — 94% — has been spent. The second pot contains $1.49 billion, with a spending deadline of Sept. 30, 2023; schools have spent 33% of this.

The third pot contains $3.71 billion, and it must be spent by Sept. 30, 2024. Only 2% of this money has been spent. Federal law requires districts to submit a detailed spending plan to the Michigan Department of Education for how they will use it. At least 20% of the money must be used to mitigate learning losses that came from closing classrooms during the pandemic.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is exaggerating claims of how many auto jobs have been added since she took office.

"The state is...in the midst of a manufacturing boom," the governor's office announced Wednesday, "having added 21,600 auto jobs and counting since Governor Whitmer took office and many other high-skill, in-demand jobs in fields ranging from semiconductor chips to software to agriculture."

That figure also appeared in a May 9 in a press release announcing that Whitmer had declared May 9-13 “Economic Development Week.”

“In partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, we have added 174,000 jobs year over year, including 21,600 auto jobs since I took office, which has helped bring our unemployment rate down to a low of 4.4%, and we continue to deliver on the kitchen-table issues that matter most to working families,” Whitmer said.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate the actual figure is less than one-tenth what the governor is claiming. The number of jobs in the sector known as “transportation equipment manufacturing” has increased only slightly during her term, going from 187,300 in January 2019 to 189,300 in March 2022. That’s down from the peak level of 344,000 jobs in June 2000.

While Whitmer boasted she has the state’s economy moving, the state has still not recovered all the jobs it lost from the COVID-related shutdown of March 2020.

Michigan is down 122,400 jobs since the pandemic began in March 2020. The 2.7% decrease is the 15th-worst for states. By contrast, 13 states have more jobs now than in March 2020.