Tagged: michigan budget

This week in review, Rina Miller and Jack Lessenberry discuss the highlights of the Michigan’s budget, whether Michigan’s Medicaid program will be getting an expansion, and whether the Detroit Institute of Arts will be forced to sell some of its collection in order to pay off the city’s debts.

Michigan’s budget

The state budget is on time for the third year in a row, but it is not finished.

Lawmakers in Lansing are quickly wrapping up the state budget for the next fiscal year. What will the $50 billion spending plan mean for you?

And, we took a look at the efforts to help prison inmates rebuild their lives through post-secondary education.

Also, we got an update on just how close the Asian Carp is to the Great Lakes.

First on the show, the Council of Great Lakes Governors met this past weekend on Mackinac Island.

The group talked of economic cooperation, and harmonizing plans for protecting the largest body of freshwater on the Earth’s surface. The discussions were mostly nice, but there were some disagreements, especially when it came to dealing with invasive species.

Michigan Public Radio’s Rick Pluta joined us today to explain.

Policymakers debate how to spend surplus

The debate continues in Lansing over how the state should spend almost half a billion dollars in unexpected revenue this year. The Michigan League for Public Policy believes that because the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit is less than a third of what it was a couple years ago, legislators should restore the credit for the working poor.

"A spokesperson for state House Democrats says they support the idea of using some of the money to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit. However, Governor Rick Snyder says a similar tax credit from the federal government does enough to help working poor families in Michigan. He wants to use the extra cash to fix roads," Michigan Radio's Jake Neher reports.

Merger between Beaumont and Henry Ford sacked

The planned merger between Beaumont and Henry Ford health systems, two of southeast Michigan’s largest health care providers, has been scrapped. The leaders of each hospital signed a letter of intent to merge last fall, but negotiations didn’t work out so well. On Tuesday, Henry Ford CEO Nancy Schlichting sent a letter to employees, indicating they’ll end talks and let the agreement expire.

“It became apparent that two very different perspectives have emerged for the new organization between Henry Ford and Beaumont,” Schlichting wrote. Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek has more.

Rising car sales cut plant shutdowns

Summer vacation will be cut short for auto factory workers in Michigan this year, as carmakers try to keep up with heightened demand. Detroit automakers plan to reduce their annual shutdowns at dozens of North American plants that produce popular Ford and Chrysler models.

“This sends a strong signal that the industry is in a healthy place,” Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at market researcher LMC Automotive, told The Detroit News.

House Republicans won't push right-to-work penalties
 
"State House Republicans have given up on efforts to punish school districts and other public employers that agreed to labor contracts that delayed the effects of Michigan’s right-to-work law. The House GOP majority allowed budget bills to move forward without threatened reductions in state payments," Rick Pluta reports.

Democrats introduce legislation for immigration reform

"Yesterday, state House Democrats introduced a package of bills they say would make Michigan a more immigrant-friendly state. Among other things, the legislation would provide in-state college tuition for some undocumented students and create an office to coordinate services and resources for immigrants," according to Jake Neher.

Lawmakers move forward in passing state budget

"The Republican-controlled House today is planning to approve its entire spending plan for state government along with schools and colleges. The GOP-led Senate is expected to OK about half of its budget plant, and follow with the rest later. The moves will set the stage for negotiations in May with a goal of finishing up by June," the Associated Press reports.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Minority Democrats in the Michigan House say pension income should no longer be taxed and other Republican-backed tax changes from 2011 should be repealed.

Democrats included the proposals in a list of budget priorities unveiled Monday in Lansing. House Democrats say their plan puts "families first," but it faces an uphill climb because Republicans control the Legislature.

Michigan’s Budget Stabilization Fund – more commonly known as the “Rainy Day Fund” is getting a lot of attention in Lansing.

The Budget Stabilization Fund is more simply known as the state’s savings account.  

When Governor Rick Snyder took office, Michigan's savings account was nearly empty and only held about $2 million.

Now, there’s about half a billion dollars in the fund, and Snyder wants to add $75 million more this year.

While Snyder has been in office, he has been trying to build up the fund, which he says would help improve the state’s credit rating and allow Michigan to get better interest rates. Additionally, there would be money available to protect against huge budget cuts in emergency situations.

What's the significance of Snyder’s efforts, and how might the sequester affect the Budget Stabilization Fund?

Listen to the audio above to hear the story.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan's budget director says he doesn't expect automatic federal budget cuts scheduled to take effect Friday to start hitting state programs for a month.

John Nixon told The Associated Press on Tuesday he expects there will be "real cuts to real people."

But he says it's too early to know the true impact on jobs and Michigan residents, and he doesn't think the Obama administration knows yet either.

Federal dollars supply more than half Michigan's budget. Nixon says he's hearing from experts that cuts won't hit state government immediately because the federal budget is funded through March 27.

Big program like Medicaid and food stamps won't be affected. But Nixon says he's concerned about cuts to home heating assistance, food aid for low-income pregnant women and job training.
 

Not many people have the opportunity to speak directly with legislators about priorities within the federal budget, but Detroit area resident Mary Kate Cartmill is going to get that opportunity this week.

Cartmill has been chosen to meet on Capitol Hill this week with legislators to discuss the impact federal spending cuts will have on the poorest and most at-risk people here at home.

Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty spoke with Cartmill about her upcoming experience.

You can listen to the full Stateside interview above.

State Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville says budget negotiations for the coming fiscal year are already underway at the state Capitol. Richardville says he expects the budget to be done several months ahead of the constitutional deadline of October.

Last year the Legislature finalized a spending plan in June.

Michigan’s Attorney General is appealing a ruling that prevents the privatization of nursing assistants as a state-run home for veterans.

The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans is one of two state-run hospitals (the other, much smaller one, is in Marquette) for veterans in Michigan. More than 700 veterans are housed there.

We are now just a few days into the state’s new fiscal year. State Budget Director, John Nixon gives us an update on the state of Michigan’s finances.

Nixon says many states relied on federal stimulus money, and now it's time to look at other options.

“We had a huge infusion of stimulus money and then there was a big cliff because once that stimulus money went away all the states are scrambling saying, “oh my gosh how do we keep our programs whole?” Well that’s what we’ve done. We cut a billion and a half dollars of spending out the budget and we balanced the budget.”