Advocacy News – June 29, 2021<\/b><\/p>\n
Even though the House Appropriations Chair had to abruptly leave the session to be at the hospital for the birth of his twins, the House today passed a $48 billion fiscal year budget that was negotiated and has the backing of the Governor.\u00a0 With a July 1 deadline to enact the next fiscal year\u2019s budget, this development is a positive step forward.<\/p>\n
While budget negotiations over the last several months might have appeared a bit rocky, the Michigan Chamber is encouraged to see the House and Governor set aside their differences and agree on a budget that will ensure our state\u2019s financial position is stabilized, paving the way for future discussions on how to spend nearly $10 billion in federal pandemic relief funds.\u00a0 The budget passed yesterday is basically the same as last year with marginal increases across the board.<\/p>\n
The Chamber agrees that passing the fiscal year 2022 budget without federal relief funding is a smart move.\u00a0 Federal relief spending is one-time money that should not be incorporated into the State\u2019s fiscal year budget.\u00a0 If federal money was mixed into the State\u2019s fiscal year budget, the opportunity to spend one-time dollars on ongoing programs increases substantially.\u00a0 With the State\u2019s fiscal health being strong, there is no rush to spend federal relief money.\u00a0 Once the fiscal year budget is approved, lawmakers and the Governor can shift their focus toward spending federal relief dollars in a thoughtful manner on proposals that will strengthen Michigan\u2019s long-term financial position.<\/p>\n
The Michigan Chamber hopes the Senate can act quickly and approve next year\u2019s fiscal year budget and move on to other pressing matters facing our State.<\/p>\n