State Rep. Ken Borton, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, expressed concerns over the 2023 House budget approved today.

“Michiganders deserve to know how the state is spending their hard-earned tax dollars, but House Democrats are using the budget process to strip important transparency measures and hide from accountability,” said Borton, of Gaylord. “This is a clear attempt to leave Michigan taxpayers in the dark, and I will not support that.”

Across the state, Michigan families are tightening their belts as they deal with the highest cost-of-living increases seen in decades, on top of rampant inflation.

“Years of strong Republican leadership and fiscal responsibility led to a massive state surplus,” Borton said. “We should be utilizing it to address the most important needs of Michigan families. Democrats, however, are blowing it on various far-left social programs and underfunding the most urgent needs we have.

“Further, my colleagues and I have repeatedly raised concerns about taking transparency and accountability measures out of the budget. House Democrats ignored our concerns, and rejected every single amendment we offered in order to restore transparency.”

Borton pinpointed a few specific concerns in the budget, including:

• Growing bureaucracy/increasing red tape: The spending plan pushed by House Democrats funds unnecessary programs that will be unsustainable in future years. For example, it pumps money into a new state archaeologist office, spends $160 million for free breakfast and lunch at schools – even for the wealthiest families, and puts $10 million toward new electric vehicles for state employees.

• Ignoring the priorities of Michigan families: House Democrats are spending an unprecedented amount of taxpayer money in the budget without including any real solutions to address our state’s most pressing challenges. There is no real solution to fix local roads, affordable and reliable childcare is essentially ignored, and not enough is being done to promote school safety.

“House Democrats simply want to spend far too much of hard-earned taxpayer dollars on programs that make good soundbites, but are unrealistic,” Borton said. “We should shift the funding from these special projects to prioritize what Michiganders truly need – fixing more local roads, fixing the problematic Child Development and Care program, or investing in school safety.”