State Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare) today voted to approve Michigan’s final budget for fiscal year 2025-2026. The budget eliminates government waste, reins in runaway spending, and increases transparency in how taxpayer dollars are used.

“This budget respects Michigan taxpayers,” said Kunse. “It reins in the growth of big government by cutting the state’s general fund by $800 million, cuts waste, and ensures that all special projects are subject to full public transparency. Taxpayers deserve to know exactly where their money is going, and now they will.”

Key highlights of the budget include:

• Full transparency for special projects: Every earmark included in this year’s budget, and for future years, was reviewed through a public process with open hearings. For-profit companies are also permanently barred from receiving earmark funds, ensuring taxpayer dollars serve public purposes, not private profits. The permanent state law changes are similar to those in House Bill 4420 which Kunse sponsors.
• Eliminating waste and fraud: The budget eliminates 2,000 phantom government employee positions, which are jobs that were never filled but still received state funding. Cutting these positions saves hundreds of millions of dollars that are now redirected toward real statewide priorities.
• Shrinking the size of state government: After years of unchecked growth, including a 43% increase in spending under Gov. Whitmer, the new budget reduces the state’s general fund spending by $800 million restoring fiscal discipline and protecting taxpayers from unnecessary government expansion.

“We delivered a budget that reflects what the people of Michigan have been asking for,” said Kunse. “Smaller, more efficient government, real transparency, and a commitment to eliminating waste. This budget puts the needs of Michigan families first and restores trust in how their tax dollars are spent.”