Legislature Sends Budgets to Governor

Liz Gullett

Sep 27, 2019

This week the legislature voted to approve the budgets for the upcoming 2019-2020 fiscal year. Following months of negotiations, both the House and Senate passed the budget bills funding the various departments and agencies. The bills will now be sent to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for consideration. She can either sign each of the bills, veto one or more of the bills, or she can line-item veto areas within each budget. The new fiscal year begins on October 1 and if the new budgets aren’t in place the State of Michigan would face a shutdown.

The budgets passed by the Legislature include:

- An additional $120 million for clean drinking water programs and environmental cleanup efforts
- $400 million one-time funding for infrastructure repairs
- A foundation allowance increase for K-12 schools of between $120 and $240 per pupil
- $30 million for special education
- $21.5 million increase in career and technical education funding
- 9% increase to university operations
- 8% increase to community college operations
- $2 million for a statewide mental health hotline
- Funding to train 86 new Michigan State Police troopers
- 3% increase to statutory revenue sharing
- $4 million for the Food and Investment Grant Program
- 20% decreased spending for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation
- 15% increase to Medicaid private duty nursing rates
- Funding to help the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs manage the recreational marijuana program

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.