LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed budget of $83.5 million dollars is way too big for a state Michigan’s size, according to some lawmakers.

Rep. Cam Cavitt (R-Cheboygan) spoke on The Steve Gruber Show on Thursday and said several states that are comparable to Michigan’s population have significantly smaller budgets.

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“How is it that Pennsylvania runs on less than $50 billion?” Gruber asked Rep. Cavitt. He replied, “It’s the same thing with Georgia and North Carolina. They run on $20 billion less than we do.”

Rep. Cavitt also brought up that people are flocking to certain states because of the increasing taxes in Michigan. “We’re going to reverse the governor’s tax increases and restore the income tax where it is supposed to be and that’s 4.05%.”  Cavitt said. The “we” Cavitt refers to is the House which is now under GOP control. However, any measures have to pass the Democratic Senate as well in order to make it to the governor’s desk.

Whitmer breaks down the budget with a video and props.

Gov. Whitmer released a video on social media on Wednesday in an effort to help Michiganders “unpack” the budget.

 

 

Gov. Whitmer appears to accept the GOP’s transparency measures.

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Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) gave credit to Gov. Whitmer’s acknowledgement that transparency is necessary in the budget process. Hall gave a nod to the Whitmer administration’s track record, saying “Lansing has failed to take meaningful action on government transparency. This is an issue [the GOP] prioritized, and now Governor Whitmer is following our lead to deliver real accountability for the people of Michigan.”

Rep. Cavitt welcomed transparency as well, but blasted Whitmer’s proposal that he said leaves out key problems that need fixing. “The governor’s proposal included $1 billion in new spending with no additional funding to fix local roads.” He also pointed out her proposal advocates the addition of more than 700 new state employees.

“Fix the damn roads” is out of cash.

“Fix the damn roads” marked a cornerstone of Whitmer’s campaigns and administration, but local road funding has sputtered to a stop. Rep. Donni Steele (R-Orion Township) called the move “disappointing” for local roads and bridges. “Once again, that there was no additional funding for local roads in this bloated $83.5 billion budget.” She pointed out priorities for Michiganders has been pushed to the side for the governor’s pet projects.

Rep. Steele’s colleague, Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton Township) said Michiganders deserve better. “Michigan families are feeling the strain of rising costs, and they deserve a government that spends wisely and prioritizes their needs,” Rep. Bollin said. “Instead of continuing down the path of higher spending and added costs, we should focus on cutting waste and ensuring taxpayers get real value for their hard-earned money.”

Lawmakers and Whitmer will spend the next several months haggling over the newly proposed fiscal budget, which must be in place by Oct. 1, 2025.