State Rep. Mary Whiteford, chair of the House Appropriations Health and Human Services Committee, today joined the state House in approving, with overwhelming bipartisan support, a plan to restore funding for vital government programs vetoed by Gov. Whitmer.

The governor vetoed nearly $1 billion in Legislature-approved funding when she signed the budget plan for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

The House plan approved today would restore the most critical of those vetoed funds, including Whiteford’s measure to restore funding for pediatric psychiatry to help support the mental health of the state’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to restore some of the vetoed items,” said Whiteford, of Casco Township. “This is a great start and I look forward to continuing to work together in a bipartisan manner.”

The plan also includes:

• $1 million for the Autism Navigator program helping connect families with services.
• $350,000 for a new autism intervention program to help infants and toddlers with developmental delays.
• Adjusted funding to ensure public charter school students get the same investment from the state as all other public school students.
• $10 million for school safety grants.
• $400,000 to bolster care for Michigan’s Alzheimer and dementia community.
• $16.6 million for rural hospitals.
• $10.7 million to improve pediatric psychiatric services.
• Nearly $2 million to continue the fight against opioid drug abuse.
• Restore essential funding for the secondary road patrol programs.

The plan now moves to be considered by the state Senate.

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