State Rep. Matt Hall (R-Marshall) and the Michigan House this week overwhelmingly approved measures to reverse many of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget vetoes – a key step in the effort to restore funding for K-12 students, public safety, health care, veterans and other vital initiatives.

Whitmer vetoed nearly $1 billion in Legislature-approved funding when she signed the budget plan for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The House votes this week advance the chamber’s efforts to restore much of this critical funding statewide, rejecting the governor’s numerous attempts to force her proposed 45-cent per gallon gas tax hike.

“The governor went out of her way on a reckless and failed quest to jeopardize funding for some of Michigan’s most vulnerable populations – all to tax hard-working Michigan families $6 to $10 dollars more each time they fill up at the pump,” Hall said. “People are understandably upset, which is why I have been working diligently to restore funding to several programs the governor cut.”

Key components of the new House-approved budget plan Hall supported include:

·       Education. The House restored $35 million providing public charter schools with the same per-student funding increase planned for students in traditional K-12 public schools. Hall said the effort helps schools like the Marshall Academy, Forest Academy and Augusta Academy provide students with the resources they need to succeed in the classroom.

·       Veterans. 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. Local county veteran service departments and accredited service officers play an important role, especially in rural parts of Michigan, helping veterans and their families navigate the VA system when filing claims for certain benefits.

·       Public safety. The measures reverse 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.

·       Health care. The House again approved over $34 million for Michigan’s 35 critical access hospitals. These hospitals provide people with vital access to quality health care services, and the funding will go toward providing additional revenue for outpatient services of Medicaid patients.

·       Autism. The House votes recover over $1 million to fund the Autism Navigator program, a statewide database system that connects families to autism services offered in Michigan. The legislation also reestablishes funding for helping schools with training educators to identify and assist children with behavioral health concerns, and a pilot initiative for providers of Early On Michigan, an intervention service for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities.

“These funding cuts should have never happened in the first place,” Hall said. “These programs – all of which Michiganders rely on – are already feeling the brunt of the governor’s politically-motivated budget vetoes. The budget solution I stand behind provides another chance to restore this important funding and get our state back on track.”

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