Advocacy News – January 18, 2022
The Michigan’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC) – with officials from the Michigan Department of Treasury, State Budget Office and Senate and House Fiscal Agencies – released detailed numbers and trends at the end of this past week to be utilized by the Governor and Legislature in constructing the next state budget. The CREC provides the latest revenue data and an overview of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for that year, as well as a look at the top economic trends and drivers. It’s held at least twice a year, in January and May.
The new 2022 year brought a forecast that includes an expected $1.7 billion more to invest, yet this fiscal year and another $1.4 billion more for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. That’s on top of the leftover and coming COVID stimulus and infrastructure dollars from the federal government.
This January estimate formally kicks off the state’s budget process. From there, Gov. Whitmer will unveil her specific budget recommendations by mid-February, followed by legislative appropriations hearings and negotiations with lawmakers as they iron out spending plans and priorities.
One key marker will be the Governor’s 2022 State of the State address – slated virtually for next week, on Wednesday, Jan. 26 – where she will outline her top policy initiatives and possibly signal how she would like to spend the generated revenue.
The Michigan Chamber will be monitoring all next steps closely to help ensure sound, fiscally responsible investments that Chamber members have identified as priorities, including:
- Support for additional funding for the GoingPRO Training Fund to better match employer demand.
- Support for contaminated site clean-up.
- Support for a deposit to the employer-financed unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund to ensure job providers are not held financially responsible for the state’s errors in paying out fraudulent and imposter claims during the pandemic.
- Support for self-insured employers and insurers in absorbing the massive costs associated with the Biden Administration’s requirement that private health plans pay for individuals to secure at-home test kits. It is important to note that the costs of these tests were not accounted for when self-insured employers reserved for claims and insurers set premiums for 2022. As such, this policy could trigger mid-year premium increases on employers and be a huge, unanticipated expense for self-insured employers and trigger higher cost sharing arrangements, including increases in deductibles and coinsurance.
For more information on this year’s CREC and budget breakdown, click here.
If you are interested in learning more about that budget process, or have ideas or feedback, please contact Leah Robinson at lrobinson@michamber.com.