State Rep. Matthew Bierlein today opposed advancing budget plans that prioritize growing government over real needs.

Bierlein underscored funding in the proposal for more than 1,000 new bureaucratic jobs – positions that will be difficult to eliminate in future years if funds aren’t available. Some of these positions will actively burden taxpayers – impacting small businesses via new inspectors and increased groundwater fees.

“This is a budget that spends over $80 billion as Michigan families struggle with their own budgets due to inflation,” said Bierlein, of Vassar. “Instead of using this money to support hard-working people, their families and our communities, Democrats are putting it toward pet projects and government bloat. The state budget must meet the needs of the people as they afford state government their hard-earned tax dollars – and these plans fall far short of that.”

Bierlein underscored previous Republican efforts to meet the critical demands of people throughout the state, including $1 billion proposed for local roads and $100 million for a public safety grant program that would help local police departments recruit and retain officers to keep neighborhoods safe.

The Democrat budget distributes no additional local road funding to Michigan communities, instead focusing on favored areas for specific projects. Overall, less than one-sixth of the state Department of Transportation budget will actually go toward fixing roads.

“This is not a serious plan,” Bierlein said. “It’s a big government spending spree. We have already seen Democrats use practically all of a $9 billion surplus over the past six months and now they’re scheduling out new, historic spending. This will have long-term ramifications for our state and future budgets.”

House Bill 4437 and Senate Bill 173 will soon head to the governor for consideration.