LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House of Representatives passed its 2023-2024 budget Wednesday.
Among its highlights are the largest investment in education in the state's history, as well as substantial amounts in workforce recruitment and retention, infrastructure, public safety and road repairs statewide.
In the allotted amount for education is a program called Great Start Readiness, making preschool and free breakfast and lunch available for every student in Michigan.
The investment also supports the MI Kids Back on Track program, which provides tutoring services to students who need extra support after the pandemic, as well as mental health funding.
The proposed budget increases the amount used for school operations by 6.4%, for a total of over $1.5 billion.
Major investments in lead line remediation and water infrastructure upgrades totaling nearly half a billion dollars are also included. Grants would be provided for renewable energy facilities, supporting job creation and climate resiliency, while devoting millions to help communities recover from flooding and other environmental disasters.
Read statements from Michigan lawmakers on the proposed budget are below:
“This budget reinvests in the people of Michigan,” said Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit). “The scale of the challenges we face — from crumbling infrastructure to pandemic learning loss, to high costs for parents and families — demand an aggressive response, and this budget rises to the occasion. I applaud Chair Witwer for her steady leadership in creating a fiscally responsible budget that puts the people of Michigan first.”
“This budget sets the priorities Michiganders asked for,” said state Rep. Angela Witwer (Delta Township), chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “We’ve invested in health-care worker recruitment and retention to strengthen our economy and shorten wait times to see providers. We’ve prioritized public safety by allocating funding to graduate a new class of officers to help keep us safe. We’re supporting the small local businesses that are the heart of our local economies. And we’re making these investments while preserving the largest rainy day fund in our state’s history.”
“There’s no better investment than our kids,” said state Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park), chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Education. “Ensuring that no student in our state goes hungry, every family has access to affordable pre-K and we are meeting the mental health care needs of our kids have always been top priorities for families in our state. I’m incredibly proud that we are finally achieving these goals.”
“I’m so encouraged to finally be a part of a Legislature that recognizes the true danger our ailing water infrastructure poses to the public’s safety,” said state Rep. Amos O’Neal (D-Saginaw). “The water crises in Flint and Benton Harbor should have shocked us all. We finally have a budget that provides the support these needs warrant.”
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