GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER UNVEILS 2023 STATE BUDGET PROPOSAL

By DEBRA HAIGHT

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled her 2023 state budget proposal last week and one area legislator is cautiously optimistic that state leaders can come to an agreement on priorities and spending for the next fiscal year.

The new fiscal year starts Oct. 1 and Whitmer and legislators will be spending much of their time between now and then negotiating and working on the new budget.

Whitmer’s proposed budget came out just two weeks after she delivered her State of the State address. In that speech, she outlined the bipartisan accomplishments of the last three years and shared her vision of the future.

A press release from the Governor’s office gave the highlights of her budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, including tax breaks for senior citizens and working families and spending on education, the economy, infrastructure and public safety. The budget calls for $74 billion in expenditures.

The release said the budget proposal sets aside $6.3 billion for improvements to roads, bridges, trains, transit and airports. It also calls for $18.4 billion to be spent on education which would be the biggest increase in state education funding in 20 years. The education proposal includes a $2,000 bonus for every school employee this fall and next fall.

On the funding side, the governor’s proposed budget relies on an extra $7 billion in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. In addition, the state is expected to get additional billions of dollars in federal infrastructure funds.

Whitmer’s budget proposal comes on the heels of the latest state revenue forecast for the general fund and the school aid fund separately and together.

The combined general fund and school aid fund revenue estimate released in late January indicated fiscal year 2022 (the current year) revenue of $28.53 billion and fiscal year 2022 revenue of $29.14 billion. Both estimates are each about $2 billion higher than the May, 2021 estimates.

The combined revenue totals break down to $12.45 billion this year and $12.89 billion in 2023 for the general fund and $16.08 billion this year and $16.25 billion in 2023 for the school aid fund.

In an interview with the Berrien County Record last week, State Rep. Brad Paquette said he sees parts of Whitmer’s budget proposal that he can support. Paquette recently filed to run for a third and final term in the state legislature. He is currently the associate speaker pro-tem in the state house.

He said the key to budget negotiations will be to find common ground on areas both parties support such as education. “Teacher retention is something I’m interested in as a former teacher,” he said. “It’s a question of how we want to approach it and then how to compromise.”

A former teacher at Niles New Tech, Paquette said he’d like to invite fellow legislators and Whitmer herself to Niles to see the types of innovative programs such as project based learning that local school districts are offering.

He said he’s been glad to see Whitmer support bills he’s sponsored such as addressing the substitute teacher shortage by allowing other school employees step in to the classroom when teachers are absent. He also hopes to find ways to empower both teachers and parents, noting that parent engagement has been at unprecedented levels since the pandemic.

Paquette said the pandemic has impacted people’s lives in many ways and he still remains concerned about the lockdowns and other actions Whitmer imposed on the state early on in the pandemic. “Fortunately we’ve taken a step back from the COVID restrictions that infringed on people’s livelihoods,” he said.

“We’ve seen her realize that she has to play it closer to the middle and that’s good in my mind,” he added. “It’s good to see her come to the middle.”

He said his biggest concern with the budget is that spending all the extra federal dollars flowing into the state will cause inflationary pressures to rise. “My biggest concern is inflation and the drastic impact federal spending has had on the economy,” he said. “Items have become scarce and prices have gone up.”

“There are a lot of federal dollars out there and we need to spend them wisely and not quickly,” he added. “We don’t need to spend money just to put press releases out there.”

Paquette noted that this year’s gubernatorial election will also have an impact on what can actually be done this year. He said he’s talked to all the Republican candidates on the issues but most particularly on education. He said his goal is to encourage candidates to be open to new ideas.

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