A House subcommittee advanced a Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 spending bill on Tuesday that includes a $145.3 million fund for legislative “pork” projects known formally as the Legislative Spending Transparency Fund (LSTF).

The House higher education budget advancing out of the Appropriations Subcommittee Thursday morning would cut funding for Michigan State University and University of Michigan by roughly 63%, redirecting much of the savings toward student scholarship programs.

If legislators don't grant the Selfridge Air National Guard Base funding by early May to construct a new runway accommodating the new fighter jets the President assigned to the base last year, House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) doesn't believe the new aircraft will come at all.

You'd need to take your shoes off to include your toes and hands to count the number of times House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has talked about "waste, fraud, and abuse" or "ghost employees" when critiquing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's budget proposal.

All the work project spending the House Republicans denied last week would be restored under legislation the Senate passed Tuesday evening, 23-15, with four Republican yes votes.

As many as 163 community enhancement grants and infrastructure projects asked for by legislators last year were included in the $644.9 million in carryover programs and projects denied by House Republicans on Wednesday, including 20 asked for by seven Senate Republican members, according to a list obtained by MIRS.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget signed Tuesday includes 200 legislative earmarks valued at $275.4 million, far less than the $2 billion in special projects found in the FY 2024 budget when the state was awash with federal COVID spending. MIRS’ spreadsheet outlining all the projects can be found here.