2013 state budget

Weekly Political Roundup: State budget talks

Jennifer White and Mercedes Mejia — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:26:31 +0000

We take a look at Michigan politics with Ken Sikkema, former senate majority leader and senior policy fellow at Public Sector Consultants, and Susan Demas, political analyst for Michigan Information and Research Service.

The Michigan legislature has come to an agreement on targets for the state budget. The state is carrying a surplus of $483 million more than projected for just the current fiscal year. So, what does that surplus tell us about the state’s fiscal health?

Listen to the full interview above.

Michigan leaders decide where to spend budget windfall

Rick Pluta — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:57:25 +0000

There’s a tentative budget deal between Governor Rick Snyder and the Legislature’s Republican leaders.

It puts more money into savings, schools, and roads. But, it also delays decisions on some of the governor’s priorities.

A budget windfall will allow the state to sock away more in savings, provide a boost to schools, and come up with enough money to qualify for federal matching funds to pay for some road repairs.

But House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) says it doesn’t solve the problem of how to come up with an additional $1.2 billion for roads.

“This provides a solid down payment on our transportation needs. However, that’s all it is. It’s not a full solution. This is a down payment,” said Bolger.

Road funding is especially difficult with a Legislature that’s been opposed to higher gas taxes and registration fees.

There’s also no arrangement to take federal money to expand Medicaid eligibility.

Bolger says those discussions are ongoing.

“We’re going to continue our conservative budget based on existing sources,” he said. “We’re not going to plan for dollars or answers that aren’t there yet. So, Medicaid has not been answered.”

The governor says Medicaid expansion under the federal healthcare law will save Michigan taxpayers money, but Republicans in the Legislature are not on board.

Bolger says the governor and the Legislature are on track to get the new budget wrapped up by their deadline of June 1.

Stateside for Monday, April 29th, 2013

Stateside Staff — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:26:46 +0000

With approval by the U.S. State Department, the plan to build a new, second bridge from Detroit to Windsor is moving forward. On today's show we take a look at the community in Detroit where the bridge will be built.

Just what will happen to the Delray neighborhood? And, then, we'll speak with a woman who has hiked the shorelines of all five Great Lakes.

But first to the state Capitol, where we saw a flurry of voting last week as lawmakers put together the next state budget.

It's expected to total about $48 billion.

The Republican-controlled state House approved spending for schools and colleges as well as a budget to fund the rest of state government.

The state Senate, also controlled by Republicans, approved about half of its budget plan with more votes scheduled this week.

Now, these votes set the stage for negotiations between the two Chambers in May because the goal in Lansing is to get the budget complete by June 1st.

Joining us are Chad Livengood, Lansing reporter for The Detroit News, and Chris Gautz, Capitol Correspondent for Crain’s Detroit Business.

How much money should Michigan keep in its piggy bank?

The Associated Press — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:43:33 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder and lawmakers don't agree on how much money to set aside in Michigan's savings account.

The rainy day fund was nearly empty when the Republican governor took office after a decade of job losses and budget crises. He successfully built it back up to more than $500 million and is hoping to add another $75 million.

Snyder says a healthy cash reserve is good for the state's credit rating and prudent in case there are future economic downturns.

But the GOP-led Senate next week is expected to approve a budget without extra money in the account. Some legislators say savings are robust and the $75 million should go to other priorities instead.

The House is more in line with Snyder. Lawmakers will negotiate their differences next month.

Michigan's film incentives are on the chopping block

The Associated Press — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:30:53 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Republican-led state House is looking to do away with tax incentives that lure moviemakers to Michigan so the money instead goes toward road maintenance.

The House on Tuesday stripped $25 million in tax credits it planned to set aside for the film industry.

The funding would go to the state and local governments for road repairs.

The House also cut $25 million from an economic-development fund and allocated it for roads.

The full House is expected to vote on its budget Wednesday, setting the stage for negotiations with the Senate and Gov. Rick Snyder next month.

So far the GOP-controlled Senate and governor are looking to designate at least $25 million in incentives for Hollywood - half the amount in the current budget.

Stateside: An alternative solution to fixing Michigan roads

Stateside Staff — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 23:54:36 +0000

Governor Snyder was crystal-clear in his State of the State address. Michigan’s roads are creaky, old and need to be fixed.

Just about everyone agrees with that. The big question is how to pay for those badly-needed repairs.

Governor Snyder wants to spend $1.2 billion each year for these road repairs. He’s proposed raising our gas tax and vehicle registration fees.

These proposals are not getting a lot of love, especially among Republicans who are not fans of anything that looks, smells, or sounds like a tax increase.

Which leads us to another idea afoot in Lansing. An idea that proposes that we can find the money from our existing budget, rather than increase revenue.

We welcomed the Capitol Correspondent at Crain’s Detroit Business Chris Gautz and Lansing reporter for the Detroit News Chad Livengood to discuss these ideas.

To hear the full story click the audio link above.

Commentary: The Budget and the roads

Jack Lessenberry — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:44:25 +0000

The house I live in is 84 years old. Two winters ago, an ancient sewer pipe broke under our basement. This meant a mess and fairly expensive work. Was that convenient? No. Could we have spent that money in ways that would have been a lot more fun? Absolutely. But building and using an outhouse in the middle of a Michigan winter didn’t seem an appealing alternative.

Which brings us to the governor’s transportation budget. He wants to increase the gas tax by 14 cents a gallon and increase car and light truck annual registration fees by 60 percent, which sounds pretty steep. They say that will cost, on an average, $120 a year per car. It will cost me more, since I drive 30,000 miles a year. Money is tight for a lot of us.

A different kind of budget

Jennifer White and Mercedes Mejia — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 21:55:00 +0000

On Thursdays we talk politics with Susan Demas, political analyst for Michigan Information and Research Service, and Ken Sikkema, former Senate Majority Leader and Senior Policy Fellow at Public Sector Consultants.

On tap today: Governor Rick Snyder presented his budget proposal. It included a 2% increase in funding for K-12 education, $130 million increase for Great Start, an increase in transportation funding, and an expansion of Medicaid.

The week in Michigan politics

Jack Lessenberry, Rina Miller and Emily Fox — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:54:54 +0000

In this week in Michigan politics, Rina Miller and Jack Lessenberry discuss Governor Rick Snyder’s upcoming budget address, the final days of the Kwame Kilpatrick trial, and how 200 administrators in Grand Rapids Public Schools got pink slipped.

School funding overhaul could be on the way

Rick Pluta — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:19:49 +0000

An overhaul of how Michigan pays for public schools could be on the way. Gov. Rick Snyder wants that to be a big part of his budget proposal in early 2013. The governor has named Lansing attorney Richard McLellan to lead the process.

McLellan says the state’s funding system is overdue for a shakeup.

Michigan lawmakers pass (most of) a budget for next year

Steve Carmody — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:37:19 +0000

State lawmakers have passed a budget plan for most of state government for next year.

The House and Senate passed an Omnibus spending bill that covers all of state government, except education. The state House passed the bill on a 61 to 49 vote. The bill passed the state Senate on a 20 to 16 vote.