State Rep. Nancy Jenkins-Arno (R-Rollin Township) voted to approve Michigan’s final budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. The plan provides record-high funding for schools, invests nearly $2 billion more in roads, and delivers lasting reforms to ensure transparency and accountability for all state budget projects.

“This budget reflects the priorities of the people of Michigan which are stronger schools, safer roads, and a government that taxpayers can trust,” said Jenkins-Arno. “We’ve delivered record high funding for students, made major investments to repair our infrastructure, and implemented permanent measures to ensure every dollar is spent openly and responsibly.”

            The final budget makes key investments in Michigan’s future:

• Record-high funding for schools: Provides $10,050 per student, a $442 increase from last year, and ensures equal funding for public cyber school students.
• Transparency for earmarks: Locks in new accountability standards requiring every special project in the budget to go through a completely open process with public hearings. For the first time, for-profit companies are barred from receiving earmarks, and permanent law changes ensure these rules apply to all future budgets.
• Nearly $2 billion more for roads: Directs new ongoing funding toward repairing Michigan’s roads and bridges, ensuring dollars paid at the pump are actually used for road improvements.

Jenkins-Arno, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), led the charge on the transparency reforms. As chair, she held hearing to ensure all earmarks went through an open and public process to give taxpayers full visibility into what their money would be used for.

“People deserve to know exactly how their tax dollars are being spent,” said Jenkins-Arno. “That’s why we fought to make transparency a cornerstone of this budget. We held public hearings on every earmark and locked in reforms that will protect accountability for years to come.”