“This morning, after vetoing 147 lines of the state budget, the Governor further took it upon herself to move $624.65 million of legislatively appropriated funds, disregarding input from legislators of both parties duly elected to represent their constituents. One of these changes was the transfer of $25 million for local bridges to public transit systems. She also moved money around in the Department of Education, Attorney General, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and Health and Human Services.

Among these changes, she also vetoed:

• $4 million in much needed county veteran services funds;
• $15 million in grants to protect communities from PFAS and other emerging contaminants;
• $10 million in school safety grants;
• $2 million for a statewide mental health hotline;
• $37 million for Going PRO, a statewide skilled trades training and job connection program;
• $10 million for investment in rural jobs;
• $1.2 million in opioid recovery programs;
• $650 thousand in training grants to local law enforcement agencies;
• $4 million in higher education tuition grants;
• $1 million in senior citizen and dementia patient assistance programs;
• $2 million in funding for healthy meals from local produce in schools;
• $375 million in road funding;
• $128 million in the K-12 budget, including:
  • all $16 million in funding for new CTE equipment;
  • $15 million for literacy intervention grants;
  • and $4 million in online Literacy, Algebra, and other Math tools. The Algebra tool in particular is currently used and showing positive results in school districts across the state, including Detroit.

In addition she also chose to wipe out funding for numerous other assistance programs within the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Human Services, and Corrections.

The Governor chose to walk out of negotiations and use executive power to instead make a mockery of our state’s budget process. She chose to take out funding for veterans, seniors, mental health, skilled trades training, roads, schools, and other services that state government should be providing. Slashing essential programs and ignoring the needs of her constituents across the state and especially in rural Michigan is unacceptable.”

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