WYANDOTTE (WWJ) – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday officially signed the largest budget in Michigan history, totaling $81.7 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.
The $57.4 billion omnibus budget, combined with the previously signed $24.3 education budget, will include millions of dollars to hire new Michigan State Police troopers, fix deteriorating roads and bridges and improve state parks.
Other focuses of the budget include investments in infrastructure, public safety, economic development and more.
“We are a strong state with unique, natural strengths, driven by a spirit of grit and innovation. We are going to be the ones who define the future of advanced manufacturing while continuing to diversify our economy and deliver a great quality of life at a good cost of living,” Whitmer said.
As Whitmer’s administration aims to grow and retain the state’s young talent, $500 million will be deposited in the “Make it in Michigan Fund” – also known as the bipartisan Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund.
The budget also includes $350 million for the Make it in Michigan Competitiveness Fund to “win federal resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.”
Among the largest allocated public safety items in the budget are $171.5 million in public safety grants for communities across the state and $34.2 million for juvenile justice reform. The state will also spend $9 million to run a Michigan State Police Trooper Recruit School, graduating an anticipated 50 new recruits.
More than $400 million will go towards fixing roads and building up public infrastructure, while $21.3 million will be allocated for clean energy and electric vehicle investments.
Nearly $600 million is included for Michigan’s water infrastructure, “protecting access to drinking water, replacing lead service lines, rebuilding sewers, and more.”
The budget also includes a large increase for schools and universities.
Speaking Monday at the ceremonial signing at the Wyandotte Fire Station, State Sen. Sarah Anthony of Lansing said although the budget is “transformational and historic in nature,” there’s still work to be done in Michigan.
Among areas that still need attention, according to Anthony, are “our housing crisis, wages for individuals who care for our children and our seniors and our differently abled, debt that saddles our cities and our school districts.”
Some Republicans are speaking out against the new budget, including Rep. David Martin, who says tax hikes built into the budget will "hurt families already struggling with inflation."
More information on the record budget can be found on the state website.
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