Rep. Meerman today shared his disappointment with the governor’s recent proposal to divert $670 million from the Michigan Public School Employee’s Retirement System (MPSERS), which is currently $30 million in debt.

“The governor’s plan to divert $670 million in MPSERS payments is irresponsible and just more of the political theatrics we have already seen from her,” Meerman said. “We owe it to taxpayers to clean our debt and commit to proper use of their dollars so future Michiganders are not on the hook for even more money. This proposal is careless and demonstrates the governor’s continued commitment to her political future over the future of Michigan.”

In May, Meerman introduced HB 4692 that would have paid down the MPSERS debt by $1 billion using a portion of the state’s historic budget surplus that totaled nearly $9 billion. The Office of Retirement Services estimated that MPSERS payment would have saved taxpayers $1.5 billion overall. Meerman was a strong advocate for paying down the debt so that more money could go directly toward educating students.

“Never has our state had such a surplus of funds as we have in the budget presented to us today,” Meerman said during a House floor speech in June. “This budget vote is a chance for us as a state to make investments in the futures of our children and grandchildren, and a wise chance for us to setup our schools for years of success.”

Unfortunately, his proposal never gained any attention from the House Appropriations Committee, and an amendment to allocate the same funding was not accepted in the School Aid and Michigan Department of Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

“Gov. Whitmer is choosing to set our state further back so she can fund her pet projects and score some positive headlines in the press,” Meerman said.

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