State Rep. Joe Bellino of Monroe on Wednesday voted with the state House to reverse the governor’s budget cuts and restore funding for opioid recovery support, autism intervention, school safety and several other important programs helping Michigan’s most vulnerable residents.
“The governor vetoed this funding in an attempt to strong arm the Legislature into approving her wildly unpopular tax proposal,” Bellino said. “The people of Michigan, who these cuts are going to directly affect, deserve better.”
A measure sponsored by Bellino – restoring a $600,000 program fighting opioid abuse among high-school students, was incorporated into the House-approved budget plan. His plan would reinstate funds necessary to administer the program.
“I know how important it is to ensure that we are fighting opioid addiction at all levels,” he said. “We have an obligation to help these students. They need to know help is available and they are not in this alone.”
The House measure also includes money to restore programs helping children with autism, including a $350,000 intervention program to train providers and a $1 million program connecting families with services.
The House proposal will also restore cuts made toward school safety programs, including $10 million to help keep students safe.
“Letting these cuts stand would have been incredibly harmful to all Michigan residents,” Bellino. “The people of Monroe and Wayne County rely on these programs, and I’m working hard to get the funding back.”
Bellino also voted to restore funding to help:
• Connect veterans with the benefits they are eligible to receive by restoring $4 million for veteran service officers.
• Improve public safety by restoring $2 million for secondary road police patrols.