The Michigan legislature has passed the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget. It was signed into law last week by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer said, “This is our fourth bipartisan, fiscally-responsible budget that does not raise taxes by a dime and pays down our debt.”
The budget includes allocations that bring the state’s “rainy day” fund to an all-time high of $1.6 billion. Some of the investments were made possible from one-time federal funds.
The $76 billion budget includes a general fund total of $15.2 billion and a school aid budget of $17.5 billion. A deposit of $180 million went into the Budget Stabilization Fund.
Addressing rising inflation, Whitmer has asked the legislature to address temporarily suspending the state gas tax, reducing the retirement tax, increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, and sending $500 inflation relief checks to Michigan residents.
Fiscal Year 2023 Michigan State Budget
School Aid and Department of Education
· $610 million to increase base per-pupil funding from $8,700 to $9,150, a 5.2% increase that equates to $450 per student. The highest state per-pupil funding in Michigan history.
· $223 million to fully fund supports for economically disadvantaged students by providing an additional 11.5% of the base per-pupil amount per student and eliminating proration, increases total to $747.5 million.
· $246 million to increase supports for the nearly 50,000 special education students in Michigan.
· $250 million for student mental health and well-being to ensure students with mental health needs can be identified and provided with the right support.
· $210 million for school safety programs, including discretionary payments to districts for their identified needs, funding for school resource officers, and the implementation of cross-sector approaches to prevent mass violence through partnerships between schools, public safety, mental health professionals, and communities.
· $575 million for educator recruitment programs to ensure the teacher talent pipeline continues to provide the education system with the best possible educators. Programs funded include $10,000 scholarships for future educators, $9,600 a semester stipends for student teachers, and expanded programs in school districts to recruit, train, and retain teachers from their communities.
· $41.7 million for pre-K education programs, including $34 million for the Great Start Readiness Program, which provides free preschool for income-eligible four-year-olds, to increase the full-day allocation from $8,700 to $9,150 per student and provide an additional 1,300 full-day slots. The budget also includes $7.1 million for early identification and intervention services for younger children through the Early On Program.
· $475 million for the creation of a school infrastructure and consolidation fund that will be utilized to help school districts build or refurbish classrooms, labs, and libraries, and the voluntary consolidation of school districts to improve student outcomes.
· $17.5 million for additional supports for vocational education and career and technical education. This includes an increase in state reimbursed costs ($10 million) additional funding for equipment purchases ($7.5 million).
· $5.5 million for increases for intermediate school district funding, English language learners supports, and students in rural and isolated districts. This amount represents a 5.2% percent increase in combined appropriated levels.
· $25 million for before and after school programs to help students with unfinished learning needs, provide a safe place outside of school hours, and provide the extra-curricular activities that foster academic success.
Community Colleges
· $16 million for a 5% ongoing increase for community college operations.
· $10 million for community college academic catchup to provide grants to community colleges to support summer educational programs.
· $9.2 million to help boost adult enrollment and help ensure those students complete a degree or certificate program.
· $6 million for Michigan reconnect short-term training for individuals who are at least 21 years old to receive a skills scholarship to a qualified occupational or private training program.
· $56 million to provide grants to each eligible community college to support students with an associate degree in nursing to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Higher Education
· $55 million investment for university operations, which provides a 2% to 5% increase for each university.
· $17.7 million to support the first phase of a floor funding model which will bring all universities to a minimum of $4,500 for each enrolled student – as calculated using the fiscal year equated student formula – over the course of three years.
· To further support university operations, a $300 million payment will be made to reduce certain annual retirement liabilities by nearly half, which allows participating universities to redirect these resources for other operational needs.
· $250 million set aside to establish the new Postsecondary Scholarship Fund.
Supporting Strong Families and Connected Communities
The budget makes vital investments to support Michigan’s families and connect communities, including:
· A 5% ongoing and 1% one-time revenue sharing increase, offering more resources to help cities, villages, townships and counties deliver critical services and hire more police officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel.
· $750 million to support municipal pensions, helping ensure a promise made is a promise kept to hardworking local government employees across the state.
· $48 million to provide lead line replacement grants for technical, managerial, and financial assistance to communities throughout the state to ensure that projects are implemented effectively and efficiently. Grants will prioritize disadvantaged communities.
· $12 million for rail grade separation to support projects at key congested local rail crossings that impede efficient movement of commercial and passenger vehicles and jeopardize timely public safety response in an emergency.
· $100 million to support information technology investments, including $75 million to replace the state’s unemployment insurance system.
· $70 million for special maintenance projects at state facilities in communities across the state.
· $100 million for modernization of Michigan’s armories.
· $35 million in support of Innovate Mound, a transformative project to improve the infrastructure on the Mound Road corridor.
· $14.8 million to reduce the cost of prisoner telephone charges, keeping prisoners connected with their support network while incarcerated and promoting their successful rehabilitation and reentry in society.
· $30 million for improvements to the state fish hatcheries.
· $6.1 million for expansion of the Selfridge Air National Guard base.
· $1.2 million to fund a suicide prevention outreach campaign to reduce the incidence of suicide among service members, veterans, and their families.
· $12 million to establish a veteran cemetery in Grayling.
· $100 million to fund pensions for Michigan State Troopers to protect their retirement.
· $97.6 million for construction of a new veteran’s home in Marquette.
Growing Michigan’s Economy and Investing in Michigan’s Workforce
The budget focuses on economic and workforce development, including:
· $230 million for two transformational education infrastructure projects to promote new collaborative approaches among higher education institutions and other partners in cancer research and medical education, and the formulation of a teaching, training, and development center focused on the electrification of vehicles and mobility.
· $110 million for workforce development, $55 million apiece for the established Reconnect and Going Pro programs.
· Funds the Office of Rural Development to help rural communities meet workforce, education, infrastructure, and connectivity needs through a $3 million investment, and $500,000 ongoing, for rural development engagement and support.
· $10 million investment for talent retention and expansion in key industries.
· $50 million for economic development for food and agriculture to support agriculture processes including supply chain, infrastructure, and workforce resources that have been affected due to the pandemic. These resources will also work to reduce environmental risks in food processing facilities and support domestic marketing programs.
· $1 million for the Buy Michigan campaign to support Michigan grown and raised products.
· $10 million for Barrier Removal and Employment Supports to remove barriers to employment for low-income, poor, and working poor residents, including those who earn above the poverty level but not enough to adequately sustain a household. These supportive services will address transportation, legal services, childcare, clothing needs, tools for work, and other barriers that keep people out of the workforce.
· $50 million for non-profit relief grants that will help provide critical support to local organizations providing needed services in communities across the state.
· $75 million for blight elimination grants to aid in the economic redevelopment of targeted locations by removing vacant and unused structures and houses.
· $75 million for Michigan community financial development institution grants, which will support the existing network of institutions as they provide and promote community economic revitalization and development through financial services and support in underserved areas of the state.
Protecting Public Health and Public Safety
To protect families and communities, the budget prioritizes funding for public health and safety.
Public Health
· $325 million for a new state psychiatric facility complex, funds construction on a single campus, serving to replace facilities for the Hawthorn Center and Walter Reuther Hospital to increase inpatient capacity and improve efficiency of services provided.
· $250 million to construct a new state public health and environmental laboratory to ensure that Michigan has state-of-the-art capabilities to protect our residents and communities.
· $85.1 million to improve access to dental care for Michiganders enrolled in Medicaid.
· $181.6 million to expand behavioral health capacity and increase the number of psychiatric beds for children and adults.
· $4.15 million to provide an ongoing increase to families with young children through the family independence program, $600 a year per child ages six and under to assist low-income families with the unique costs of caring for very young children.
· $36 million for a 20% increase to the maintenance payments provided to foster care, adoptive, and juvenile guardianship families. These payments, which have not been increased since 2012, provide financial support to families that have taken in children who would otherwise not be living in a family environment.
· $10.5 million for a child welfare services rate increase, which increases state rates to residential child caring institutions serving foster children by 5% and private residential juvenile justice providers by 12%.
· $500,000 to raise awareness of uterine fibroid disparities among minority populations.
· $15 million in FY22 to increase state rates to residential child caring institutions serving foster children.
· $132.5 million in new resources to improve Medicaid reimbursement for several critical services, including primary care, community mental health workers, neonatal services and private duty nursing.
· $3.85 million toward implementation of the Food Security Council’s recommendations.
· $10 million for student loan reimbursement for behavioral health providers.
· $10 million to the Jail Diversion Fund to be used by the Mental Health Diversion Council to distribute grants to local entities to establish and expand jail diversion programs in partnership with local law enforcement and behavioral health services providers, ensuring that individuals with mental illness receive appropriate treatment.
· $48 million for community technical assistance for lead line replacement projects.
· $31 million for orphan oil and gas well remediation (federal fund) to identify, seal, and remediate the 182 abandoned oil and gas wells and adjacent areas throughout the state. This program is supported through federal IIJA funds and will expand existing state efforts.
· $30 million for cleanup of contaminated sites and to improve the ability to identify, assess, and cleanup sites of legacy contamination plus an additional $10 million for rapid response.
Public Safety
· $130 million FY22 Law Enforcement supplemental makes investments in community policing, supports public safety academies to train more new officers, improved telecommunications, Detroit PAL Program expansion to other communities, training grants for EMS, and more.
· $9.2 million for a state police trooper recruit school to graduate 50 new troopers in addition to the 120 troopers who are anticipated to be hired and trained using existing attrition savings.
· $3 million for Michigan State Police training and professional development.
· $518,000 for a pilot program to support victims’ needs early in their interactions with the criminal justice system while also building partnerships with community organizations in support of victim advocacy.
· $1.1 million for a cybercrime unit to support statewide investigatory assistance and digital forensic examinations.
· $1.6 million for food and agriculture preparedness and response to address gaps identified during the pandemic, helping create and maintain disease response plans.
· $5 million for Jobs Court, a prosecutorial diversion pilot program to provide supervision and support for eligible pretrial defendants to secure and maintain gainful employment, with the option of dismissal of charges for participants who successfully complete the program.
· $3.5 million to create a new retail organized crime unit to reduce the demand for stolen merchandise, limit opportunities to convert stolen merchandise into cash, and reduce theft opportunities for drug users who are the primary repeat offenders.
· $23.5 million to invest in Michigan Department of Corrections employees and safety.
· $150 million to support the development and implementation of a Statewide Judicial Case Management System that will reduce local court costs, improve data management, and bring greater efficiency in court operations.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
