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Michigan begins its 2020-2021 fiscal year today with a budget in place, and none of the controversy that consumed last year’s process.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the budget into law yesterday.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that has reduced tax revenues and increased state expenses, base funding for K-12 schools, community colleges, universities and local units of government will be unchanged from last year. K-12 schools will receive an additional small bonus allotment per pupil. The education budget also includes increased allocations for K-12 student mental health counseling, incentives to attract and retain new teachers, hazard pay bonuses for teachers and school staff members, cash to forgive school meal debts, and money to assist special education students who are learning remotely,
Additional money has also been found for the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies program, expansion of child care subsidies for low-income families, and improvements to state psychiatric care. $100 million will be dedicated to business development, and the Pure Michigan tourism campaign will be revived, to the tune of $15 million. $14 million has been earmarked to help develop rural broadband service.
Republican State Senator Ed McBroom noted that this year’s budget includes $4 million for Houghton and Baraga counties to use as matching funds for federal dollars for road and bridge repair from the 2018 Father’s Day Flood. He was also pleased that $1.1 million has been included to retire the longstanding shortfall in retirement funding from the defunct Michigan Works! UPward Talent Agency, that affected counties in the Western Upper Peninsula. Similar shortfalls had been addressed in other parts of the state years ago.
