(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/22/23) If another economic development opportunity arises and state revenue is needed to seal the deal, what will the state do after spending nearly all its $9 billion surplus in the most recent budget?
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II said, during a Lansing stop on his statewide “Make it in Michigan” tour Tuesday, that the state’s economic development needs are covered by the investments put into the new budget. And if more money is needed for a supplemental, he noted that the state's ample rainy-day funds could possibly be tapped into.
Michigan's Rainy-Day Fund after the passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget sits at nearly $2 billion, the highest level in state history.
The question was asked after House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Kalamazoo) said on Michigan’s Big Show with Michael Patrick Shiels that Democrats came in and “spent our entire state’s surplus,” without properly investing in infrastructure or law enforcement.
He said only 5% of the state’s bridges rated critical, serious, or closed were funded, leading him to quip: "We spent more on a disc golf course” than law enforcement recruitment.
Still, Gilchrist said moving money into the state’s budget stabilization fund, along with the creation of seven new School Aid savings accounts for the education budget’s version, ensures that “we are prepared for whatever our economic future may be.”
This budget well positions us to be able to navigate future unpredictability, he said, while at the same time being able to put our best foot forward.
Gilchrist added that the Make it in Michigan plan, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled at the May Mackinac Policy Conference as a strategy to take advantage of federal investment dollars, is another tool in Michigan’s toolbox “to be able to continuously and competitively work to win every product we can in the state of Michigan.”
That will be true this fall and beyond, he said.
When asked why Democrats chose the strategy of spending down the surplus, Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) said: “We invested because there needed to be investment.”
She said cases like the Capital Region International Airport (LAN), which she described as “somewhat neglected” and in need of additional resources, highlighted the need for a new approach.
The airport received a $9.4 million budgetary line item for surrounding roadway improvements.
Anthony said many other industries and communities across the state have a similar need for investment, including youth programs, community centers and statewide housing.
“There were decisions that needed to be made, of whether we were going to continue to invest in things that, quite honestly, don’t serve real people, or actually listen to our constituents,” she said. “This is what the budget looks like. It’s a reflection of thousands of conversations that manifested into real dollars in every corner of the state.”
Anthony and Rep, Angela Witwer (D-Lansing) highlighted the community investments in their districts, including $40 million for a new Lansing city hall, $6.2 million for the Moores Park Pool repair, $900,000 towards Eaton County sheriff's mobile command unit, $10 million for a rebuild of the Delta Township wastewater treatment plant and $10 million for a multi-generational community center.
Gilchrist said these middle-of-the-year investments and passage of legislation are the most important to focus on, compared to what happens at the start and end of the session.
He was asked about what could happen to the early presidential primary bill (SB 13), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansion (HB 4001) or Proposal 2 implementation legislation if the legislature does not decide to adjourn sine die early.
Gilchrist did not hypothesize what could happen, but he said Democrats have demonstrated so far this year that “we can get a hell of a lot done by working together and working efficiently.”
He said that the same attitude will likely return in the fall, whatever the Legislature does decide, and people will likely look back on 2023 as one of the most productive years in a generation.
“I think we will have the time to accomplish everything we need to accomplish here before the end of this calendar year,” he said.
