LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed 13 bills sent to her by the Democratic-led House and Senate at the close of session in December, including legislation that would set up parolee ID programs, expedite petition signature verifications and create penalties for businesses that don't inform the state of plans to outsource a call center.

The Friday vetoes, the Democratic governor's largest veto sweep under the Democratic trifecta of government control, came as Whitmer signed a couple dozen other bills into law, including ones that would allow for votes on transit and tourism taxes in Metro Detroit.

The vetoes include five House bills that would have created a random sampling process to determine the validity of signatures for a petition. Similar rules were recently adopted by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers at an administrative level.

Whitmer noted in her veto letter that, in 2022, the Republican gubernatorial primary and other statewide races were "rocked by record levels of signature fraud."

"Unfortunately, these bills fall short of the serious need to address this fraud, to restore public trust in our nomination petition process, and to protect voters and our state constitution," Whitmer wrote in a Friday letter announcing the veto. "Namely, these bills move Michigan in the wrong direction by authorizing sampling procedures instead of requiring exhaustive review of signatures to ensure no fraud exists."

The governor also vetoed four House bills that would make it easier for parolees to receive driver's licenses and state ID cards, a law that Republicans had critiqued as a backhanded way to register former prisoners to vote.

Whitmer wrote in her veto letter that she supported the policy behind the bills, but she argued they conflicted with automatic voter registration bills she signed into law in 2023. Those bills are set to take effect on June 30, 2025.

If the parolee ID bills were to be signed into law, the governor argued, "conflicting provisions in those bills will override these important changes to the automatic voter registration process before they become effective due to a technical error in drafting, as they amend the same statutory sections in different ways."

A Senate bill that would have prevented certain unemployment fraud investigation methods from being released under a public records request was vetoed, Whitmer wrote, because of a "concerning carveout" that allows an attorney to access the information that is otherwise blocked from the public.

"This exemption is problematic because disclosure of this information could be a violation of regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Labor and could subject the state to potential penalties including the withholding of funds," Whitmer wrote. The state administers federal unemployment benefits and, because of that, has to comply with strict federal Department of Labor standards.

"Additionally, such an exemption is entirely unnecessary, given that attorneys can receive this information through the discovery process in court and administrative proceedings," the governor added.

Two other vetoed House bills would require employers to notify the state if they were to close or outsource a call center. Failure to do so would result in civil fines and make a business ineligible for state subsidies.

The governor, in her veto letter, noted the state already requires employers to provide written notice before a facility closure or mass layoff.

"Accordingly, these bills would likely result in the unnecessary use of the department's time and resources," Whitmer wrote.

The governor also vetoed a House bill sponsored by state Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, that would extend the maximum number of unemployment weeks from 20 to 26. The governor signed a Senate bill into law in December that would extend the weeks and increase the weekly unemployment benefit.

Because the House bill was presented after the Senate bill was signed into law, Whitmer wrote, "signing this bill would override the changes already made to the Michigan Employment Security Act by Senate Bill 40, including the weekly increase in benefits."

"Had enrolled House Bill 5827 been presented to me at the same times as enrolled Senate Bill 40, the two could have been reconciled," Whitmer said. "Unfortunately, that didn't happen."

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