LANSING, Mich. (WWJ) – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday laid out her plans for a proposed $74.1 billion state budget for the 2023 fiscal year that would significantly boost education spending, while also emphasizing infrastructure, workforce development, accessibility to healthcare and public safety.
The proposed budget comes as Michigan has plentiful surplus revenues and federal pandemic relief funds, with $7 billion of the total spend coming from those surplus funds.
Whitmer’s proposal includes an $18.4 billion K-12 school aid plan that would include four years of bonuses to recruit and retain teachers, as well as a 5% increase for both per-pupil funding and spending for public universities and community colleges.
The proposed increase in per-pupil spending would bring that total to $9,135, the most in state history.
State Budget Director Chris Harkins explained the plan for teacher bonuses would include $2,000 bonuses each of the first two years, before increasing to $3,000 and $4,000 in the subsequent years.
Harkins said the budget “makes significant strategic and fiscally responsible investments.”
“Together, we can make these investments that put students first, that improve our roads and our infrastructure, that support a healthy and safe community and that use one-time resources on one-time things,” he said.
Other highlights of the governor’s proposal include a $1 billion boost to the state’s transportation budget, which would bring it up to $6.3 billion – about a 20% increase.
On that front, Whitmer’s plan includes more than $575 million in funding from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act to provide resources for several major infrastructure projects across the state, including road and bridge repairs, railways and more.
The Strategic Outreach and Reserve Fund would receive $500 million to provide funding for economic development projects that aim to invest in the state’s future and bring “transformational projects” to Michigan that would keep a leg up in the manufacturing industry.
The plan also includes a big change to the Earned Income Tax Credit, which would increase the EITC from 6% to 20%. Harkins says this proposal would impact over 700,000 families in Michigan and would save in excess of $300 per family.
More information on the governor’s proposed budget can be found on the state’s website.
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