- T.J. Bucholz of Vanguard Public Affairs. Polling on Friday showed 93% of voters have already made up their minds for whom they're voting in the General Election.

Legislation codifying the Governor's emergency executive order on expanded unemployment insurance benefits passed the Senate unanimously Thursday, but Democrats objected to Republicans linking the bill to expanded COVID-19 liability protections for businesses.

SB 0886 makes sure those with COVID-19 or caring for a loved one with COVID-19 are able to receive the expanded 26 weeks of unemployment as opposed to the standard 20. Democrats had no objections with the Sen. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth) bill that also covered those workers who need to quarantine due to being exposed to someone who had tested positive.

However, they did have a problem with a legislative link to four House bills they feel give businesses too much legal immunity from COVID-19 claims. The Governor has vetoed a prior attempt at this type of move and she's not in support of the four bills (HB 6030, HB 6031, HB 6032 and HB 6101)) as they stand now.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Thursday announced $12.7 million in Connecting Michigan Communities grants and the formation of a new task force to expand broadband access statewide.

"In today's society, the fastest way to create an even playing field for all is access to high-speed internet," said Whitmer. "These broadband internet projects, along with additional infrastructure initiatives we are undertaking, will provide underserved communities in Michigan with high-speed internet service."

The grants and task force were announced at the North American International Cyber Summit.

"This critical service is no longer a luxury, but a necessity that allows every Michigander to get a quality education and compete in the global economy," she added.

The broadband projects announced Thursday were selected through the Connecting Michigan Communities grant program. The $12.7 million in awards are estimated to generate between $15.7 and $23.1 million in annual economic benefits to consumers. These projects will extend access to over 10,900 households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Michigan.

To shore up the Fiscal Year 2021 budget, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and lawmakers agreed to shift $165.6 million from 13 restricted funds for other purposes to help plug the General Fund (GF) hole.

The largest chunk of transferred funds was $54 million lifted out of the 21st Century Jobs Fund, which is used by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) for such economic development programs as Pure Michigan or business grant programs, according to this white paper from the MEDC website. The fund can receive money from any source, but it's mostly comprised of GF and tobacco settlement revenues.

According to a State Budget Office breakdown of the $165 million in fund transfers, $37.1 million was lifted out of the Film Promotion Fund, as the program ended.

The Marihuana Regulatory Fund saw $17 million taken out to go to the GF. Revenue from this fund comes from application fees and annual regulatory assessments that medical marijuana licensees pay, according to this document from the Senate Fiscal Agency.

The COVID-19 case rates and death rates for the Upper Peninsula are up recently, but the hospitalization rates for the U.P. lag behind most other state regions, according to a look at state data.

Asked about whether rising cases in the U.P. should warrant immediate action by the Legislature, House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) -- who represents a portion of the U.P. -- said he needs to look at the data before taking such action.

"Remember, this was 14 days to flatten the curve, it wasn't 14 days to lower cases," Chatfield said Monday. "We have to look at what the hospitalization rate is in the U.P. We have to look at bed capacity. We have to look at the death rate as well as cases. I think only looking at cases is very narrow-sighted but we will be digging into that."

So that's what MIRS did Wednesday.

According to the state's MI Safe Start Map -- which tracks the case and death rate by region in Michigan -- the U.P. is seeing 177 cases per day per million people over the past week, with data current as of Oct. 3.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson Tuesday predicted it won't be until the Friday after the November election -- three days later -- that every ballot will be tabulated in Michigan.

Even though Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Tuesday a bill allowing local clerks in certain jurisdictions to begin processing ballots a day early, Benson said that doesn't change the estimation for when she believes the ballot-counting will be done.

SB 0757 passed the Legislature and limited the pre-processing of absentee ballots -- removing the outer envelope -- to 10 hours the day before the election and for cities that are bigger than 25,000 people.

Benson had said throughout the legislative process that the bill was a small step but ultimately not enough. Tuesday, she said it wouldn’t be enough to change her estimation of when election results will be complete.

"Now it may be sooner, but we want to manage those expectations, and we want . . . all watching our elections to be patient," Benson said about her Friday prediction.