LANSING — Michigan House Republicans have put forward and passed a budget plan that would cut funding to most state agencies, billions less than current spending and proposals from the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“Ours is a $78.5 billion budget, and really the the whole point of this was to cut out waste, fraud and abuse,” said Rep. Parker Fairbairn, (R) District 107, Harbor Springs.
The plan comes nearly two months after the initial deadline for the Legislature to pass a state budget.
Senate Democrats pushed back against the proposal, saying it would impact access to government services around Michigan.
“I think we owe it to the citizens of Michigan to make sure we’re doing everything we can to fund the things that are important all across the state of Michigan, and this budget that they passed yesterday just simply does not,” said Sen. Kevin Hertel, (D) District 12, St. Clair Shores.
The House voted on the more than 800-page proposal less than an hour after it was introduced publicly and with just five weeks to a potential state government shutdown on Oct. 1.
Part of the plan would cut $40 million from Michigan State Police’s post operations, the equivalent of nearly 300 full-time positions.
It’s unclear how many of those positions are occupied, but Fairbairn says they’re a part of more than 4,000 vacant roles that Republicans have proposed cutting.
“These are people or positions that are not being filled, and they haven’t been filled for a very long time,” he said. “So we’re going in and cutting some of these positions. They’re not recruiting these positions.”
The plan would also move up the implementation of federal work requirements for Medicaid. Those are set to go into effect in 2027, but the Republican proposal would move them to the start of 2026.
“We think you should be working, or striving to get a job, working a certain amount of hours a week, to be earning benefits like this, and not just really just taking from the system and not giving back,” Fairbairn said.
Democrats say that the plan would make things even more difficult for hospitals that may already be struggling.
“A number of hospitals in the state are already today operating at a 5-10% deficit, which means that those hospitals, and many are in rural areas, are hanging by a thread,” Hertel said.
Lawmakers in both chambers say they’re hoping to reach a deal — but billions of dollars in disagreements remain.
“The House has the full intent to get that done before the deadline,” Fairbairn said.
Lawmakers won’t return to lansing until Wednesday, Sept. 3, leaving less than a month to hash out tens of billions in spending.
“We’re not going to — simply to have a deal — take a bad deal that will drastically impact many citizens across the state in a negative way,” Hertel said.
The bill passed 59-45 with all Republicans in favor and one Democrat in support.