(The Center Square) – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer officially signed off on the 2025-2026 budget, just hours before the one-week fiscal extension deadline was set to end.
The K-12 education budget totals $24.1 billion, while the general omnibus budget is an additional $52 billion.
Both Republicans and Democrats have applauded the budget as a compromise following months of negotiations.
“The bipartisan, balanced budget I signed today delivers for all Michiganders,” Whitmer said. “It fixes our damn roads, cuts taxes for seniors and working families, provides students free breakfast and lunch, protects public health and safety, and much more.”
Speaker of the House Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, said he was happy with the inclusion of an overhaul of the state’s earmarking process.
That effort could have a significant impact on how taxpayer money is spent in the state, as previously reported on by The Center Square.
“We’re finally moving in the right direction,” Hall said. “Eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. Cut phantom employees.”
With an Oct. 1 deadline for the budget, the state just narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing a $1.56 billion continuation budget that kept the Michigan budget funded until today. Michigan had not faced a shutdown since 2009, when a shutdown lasted mere hours before the budget was finalized.
While Oct. 1 was the start of the new fiscal year, that wasn’t the only deadline Michigan legislators had blown. July 1 was the legally-mandated statutory deadline for the finalization of the entire budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, including the separate K-12 education budget.
That deadline came and went, after Republicans and Democrats proposed and voted on vastly different education budget plans. With the Senate and governorship run by Democrats and the House run by Republicans, compromise from both sides was necessary to make any real momentum on passing the budget.
Though they were finally able to do that, not everyone was happy with how the budget turned out.
Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, said he is disappointed in the final budget. He was one of five Senate Republicans who voted against it.
“I commend House Republicans for their efforts on this budget, especially given that they were forced to negotiate with an absent governor and a Senate Democrat majority unable to demonstrate an ounce of leadership,” Nesbitt said. “However, at the end of the day, this budget doesn’t do enough to help ease the burdens on families, farmers, small businesses and our kids so they can make it in Michigan.”
Other Republicans are applauding the budget for its “responsible spending,” calling it historic. While lowering state spending slightly from the last fiscal year, it did increase funding for infrastructure projects like roads and bridges, as well as schools. It also:
• Eliminates state taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security income
• Cuts 2,000 “ghost” government employee positions
• Created a new $115 million Public Safety Trust Fund
• Continued taxpayer-funded universal school lunches
• Added a 24% wholesale tax on marijuana
