State faces rosier revenue, budget picture with new projections
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget director, Jen Flood, said a lot of economic indicators are pointed in the right direction.
Inside the Michigan Capitol building.
Michigan’s employment and earnings numbers are coming in better than expected, which also means a likely windfall to help pay for K-12 schools, public universities, community colleges and state government. That determination was made Friday by a panel of state budget officials.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature are required to use the numbers adopted by the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference. It looks like they’ll have a little short of $33.2 billion to work with in the coming fiscal year. That is $770.4 million more than was anticipated.
Jen Flood, the Democratic governor’s budget director, said a lot of economic indicators are pointed in the right direction.
“Inflation is down, more people are working, and incomes are up,” she said. “Our strong economic growth means that we’re well positioned heading into 2025.”
State Treasurer Rachel Eubanks, who also works for Whitmer, said whether that surplus holds will depend a lot on actions by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“We will continue to watch very closely what happens at the federal level, especially as it relates to tax and trade policy and how that can potentially uniquely impact Michigan,” she said. “But we don’t have a crystal ball, so we do our very best to forecast revenues based on what we do know.”
Many Republicans say they would like to see that surplus directed toward fixing roads and a tax cut.
“If we’ve got another billion in projected revenue that’s great, but it’s not a license to spend frivolously,” said Rep. Joe Aragona (R-Clinton Township). “There is still a lot of waste in the budget that we need to cut, and we should be looking for a way to return some of the surplus to the people of Michigan.”
The GOP negotiating position is significantly improved in this session with the Republican takeover of the Michigan House Representatives. The Senate remains in Democratic control.
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