State Rep. Joe Bellino of Monroe today 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 plan restores funding for a $600,000 program fighting opioid abuse among high-school students — a measure sponsored by Bellino.

“It’s crucial we work on fighting opioid abuse at all levels,” he said. “Our high school students and their families who are struggling need to know we have their backs and we want to provide them with the help they deserve.”

The plan will soon head to Gov. Whitmer for her signature, reversing many of the cuts she made at the start of the budget year that began Oct. 1.

“I’m happy we were able to work together to restore funding for these very important programs,” Bellino said. “We never should have had to go through with this budget process restoration to begin with, but we can now focus on moving forward and doing what’s best for the people of Michigan.”

The measure restores funding to help children with autism, including a $350,000 intervention program to train providers and a $1 million program connecting families with services.

The plan also restores support for:
• School safety, including $10 million to help protect students.
• Veterans, including $4 million to help connect our military heroes with the benefits they deserve.
• Public safety, including $13 million for secondary road police patrols.

“I’m glad the people of Wayne and Monroe counties won’t have to worry about whether the programs they rely on will be available,” Bellino said. “Letting these cuts stand would have been extremely destructive to families in our communities. I’m proud to fight alongside my colleagues in the Legislature to reverse the damage.”