Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state legislature have agreed on a budget proposal that includes language banning health officials from enforcing mask mandates in schools and preventing state public agencies from enforcing vaccines on employees or customers.
"The director or local health officer shall not issue or enforce any orders or other directives that require an individual in this state who is under the age of 18 to wear a face mask or face covering," the 1,000-page budget states in one section.
The language could mean that health officials' mask mandates for K-12 students in areas such as Oakland and Wayne counties could be null and void. Instead, mask mandates would be left in the hands of school boards and districts.