By state Rep. Rodney Wakeman of Saginaw Township

The most important virtue our historic 100^th Michigan Legislature displayed in 2019 was patience. We needed to work resiliently and dutifully to deliver crucial funding to people throughout the state who rely on essential public services every day, and it took longer than it should have.

The people of Michigan witnessed brazen politics from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer when she slashed nearly $1 billion from the state budget that began Oct. 1.

Through ultimatums, a record 147 line-item vetoes and an unconventional, unilateral power grab to transfer funds through an administrative board, bypassing your voice in the legislature, the governor used the jobs and livelihoods of Saginaw County families as bargaining chips in her reckless pursuit of the highest gas tax in the country.

These funding cuts to our students, seniors, veterans, roads and public safety services were serious misjudgments by the governor. They never should have happened, and the budget process should have never dragged out this long.

Residents throughout Saginaw County were rightfully upset. As your state representative, I listened to each and every one of your concerns and took action to ensure the governor’s misguided budget vetoes were reversed.

After months of bipartisan collaboration, I helped deliver a new, finalized budget plan that restored much of the funding eliminated by the governor – a fiscally responsible plan she ultimately signed.

Programs having their funding restored include:

• The budget plan restores $35 million to provide public charter schools with the same per-student funding increase planned for students in traditional K-12 public schools. I spearheaded efforts to ensure Michigan’s 150,000 public charter school students have access to the resources they need to succeed in the classroom.
• The legislation reinstates $4 million to the County Veteran Service Fund to help connect veterans with the benefits they have earned through their military service.
• Public safety. The plan reverses the governor’s $13 million in cuts to the program allowing sheriffs to hire patrols for secondary roads, and restores the $10 million Whitmer eliminated for school safety grants.
• More than $1 million was restored to fund the Autism Navigator program, a statewide database system that connects families to autism services offered in Michigan.

Saginaw County and other communities across Michigan that contribute to and rely on the state’s tourism industry know the importance of the Pure Michigan campaign. While I was disappointed the recent budget plan didn’t restore funding for this popular advertising initiative, my efforts to reinstate money to Pure Michigan continue.

I have cosponsored a plan providing $37.5 million to fully restore funding that was eliminated by the governor.

The Pure Michigan campaign is much more than Tim Allen voice-over commercials and billboards along I-75. It’s an investment that extends much further than Michigan workers and businesses. It’s an investment in our state.

Frankenmuth and surrounding communities have greatly benefited from the Pure Michigan campaign since 2008. In 2018 alone, tourism generated $2.8 billion in state and local tax revenue. Every dollar spent on Pure Michigan yielded a return on investment of $9 – an impressive ROI any business owner would take in a heartbeat.

Just like I negotiated proper policy regarding her budget cuts, I promise to continue my work to restore funding for the Pure Michigan campaign. We cannot let this program be eradicated and jeopardize the hundreds of thousands of Michigan jobs relying on it.