Tagged: state budget

Governor Snyder has said the state needs to do more to attract immigrants, and get them to stay once they’re here.

In his recent budget proposal, Governor Snyder calls for the creation of a Cultural Ambassador program to attract and welcome immigrants to the state, which is similar to a program he helped create when he worked at Ann Arbor SPARK.

Governor Rick Snyder calls for a slight boost in spending in his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year – with more money for police, schools, and universities. The governor says this year’s spending plan is built on tough decisions made last year.

Snyder was flanked by Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley and Budget Director John Nixon as he took a seat in front of a packed house. He presented his budget plans to a joint meeting of the House and Senate appropriations committees. The governor started out with a short history lesson, reminding lawmakers of how things have changed since his budget presentation from a year ago. “It was a mess,” Calley said.

In 2011, the governor called for taxing pensions; taking $400 million dollars from the School Aid Fund to help pay for universities –  which still saw a cut in funding – and concessions from public employees. “We had to address a billion and a half dollar deficit. We addressed that. We had to ask for shared sacrifice from many people, a lot of difficult decisions and I appreciate a lot of understanding by a lot of people,” Snyder said.

This year, the economy has improved, and so has revenue. The governor called for modest increases to money for schools and universities – much of it linked to improving student performance. Local governments could also see more if they find ways to become more efficient.

Governor Rick Snyder spoke to Michigan Radio’s Jennifer White about his budget proposal for fiscal year 2013.

In the proposal are some funding increases for education, public safety and infrastructure.

Governor Snyder will present his budget proposal for the next fiscal year this morning at the state Capitol.

Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley told Michigan Public Radio Network’s Laura Weber that he expects budget negotiations will go more smoothly this year than in recent years. ‘The reason why last year’s budget was difficult is because it actually did fix the structural problems that had plagued us for so long. And because we did all the hard work last year, it makes movement in a more positive direction where we can all grow and invest together,” Calley explained.

Details of the Governor's budget have started to leak out and here's what we know so far:

From the Detroit News:

Gov. Rick Snyder will propose investing an additional $45 million in public safety as part of his 2013 budget proposal... Snyder noted in his State of the State address in January that Michigan has four cities — Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw — that regularly turn up on the nation's Top 10 list of most violent cities. The governor has promised to roll out a detailed crime-fighting strategy in a Special Message to the Legislature on Public Safety in March.

From the Associated Press:

A projected budget surplus means an estimated 37,000 state of Michigan workers represented by unions won't have to take furlough days this fiscal year. The unionized workers had been expected to take up to four furlough days each in the fiscal year that ends September 30th. The furlough days were announced last fall because unions did not reach an agreement on concessions with Governor Rick Snyder's administration.

Later in the day, the Governor will hold a virtual town hall meeting to discuss his budget. The AP reports:

Snyder was so happy with how his town hall meeting on Facebook went after last month's State of the State address that he's holding another one. This time the governor will take residents' questions just after he presents his 2012-13 budget proposal to lawmakers on Thursday. Viewers can watch the hour-long town hall meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. on the Rick Snyder for Michigan Facebook page.

You can submit questions at online at www.michigan.gov/townhall. Or, post questions on the Governor’s facebook page.

When the Legislature returns to the state Capitol next week, there will be another item added to its to-do list. That is: coming up with millions of dollars to fill a budget gap created by the state Supreme Court decision on Michigan’s new pension tax. The court upheld the tax on pensions, but said denying a tax break to some higher-earners effectively created a graduated income tax.

A graduated income tax is not allowed under the state constitution. That part of the decision also blew a $60 million hole in the state budget. Sixty million dollars is a small part of a general fund budget that exceeds $8 billion.

But it is an amount the governor and the Legislature will need to make up to meet their obligation under the state constitution to have a balanced budget. One possibility would be to use a projected surplus from last year’s budget to fill the gap. That number becomes official in January. But it appears the surplus will be somewhere near $400 million.

Lawmakers are already fighting over what to do with that money. Democrats say it should be used to restore some budget cuts to schools. Republicans say it should go into the state’s “rainy day” savings fund, or to pay down debt.

A legislative agency says the state is taking in a lot more money than it expects to spend as the books are about to close on the last fiscal year. The revenue estimates from the state House Fiscal Agency say the state appears to be in line to reap $285 million more than expected.

That includes a $145 million windfall for the School Aid Fund. Some Democrats say a portion of that money should be used to restore cuts to K-12 schools.

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.”

The Michigan legislature returns from break next week. While they will be faced with a new set of issues when they return, at least one legislator is critical of the work that’s been done so far.

Every week we interview lawmakers about what's happening in our state and the nation. Michigan Radio's Jennifer White today talks with Freshman Democratic State Representative Jeff Irwin about the state budget, working with the legislature and what we can expect in the coming months.