Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled her 2024 budget recommendation on Wednesday, totaling $79 billion.
Whitmer and State Budget Director Christopher Harkins outlined the proposal in front of Senate and House Appropriations committees.
According to the governor's office, the budget includes a general fund total of $14.8 billion and a School Aid Fund total of $19 billion.
As outlined previously by the governor, the recommendation includes rolling back the retirement tax, expanding the Working Families Tax Credit, providing pre-K for all Michigan 4-year-olds and more.
"In the months ahead, I look forward to working with my partners in the legislature to deliver a balanced budget that makes a real difference in people’s lives. Let’s get it done," Whitmer said in a statement.
Below are some highlights about each area of the budget, according to the governor's office.
Education
- $900 million deposit into a new rainy day fund for schools
- $614 million to support school operations through a 5% increase in the base per-pupil
- $318 million for school safety programs
- $300 million for tutoring through the MI Kids Back on Track program.
- $300 million to invest in student mental health
- $257.3 million to help give all 4-year-olds free pre-K
- $195 million to help teachers
- $160 million to provide students free breakfast and lunch to all of Michigan’s public school students
- $150 million to fund matching grants for school districts to modernize their bus fleet by switching over to electric vehicles.
- $120 million investment in various educator supports
- $94.4 million for literacy-related programs and activities in Detroit public schools.
- $79.9 million to continue expanded support for special education students
- $66.5 million to provide a 5% increase in funding to support academically at-risk students, English language learners, and students in rural school districts
- $64.7 million increase in funding for academically at-risk, economically disadvantaged students
- $30 million supporting new math intervention programs
- $25 million for additional support for vocational education and career and technical education equipment upgrades
- $4 million to establish the Nature Awaits program, providing every Michigan fourth grader with a free field trip to a state park
Higher education & workforce development
- 4% ongoing increase for university and community college operations
- $200 million in Infrastructure, Technology, Equipment and Maintenance funding for community colleges & universities
- $140 million to temporarily lower the eligibility age for Reconnect from 25 to 21
- $100 million additional investment for the ongoing costs of the Michigan Achievement Scholarship
- $75 million for the Reconnect Bachelor’s Degree Pathway program
- $55 million for a Student Wellness Fund to help universities and community colleges improve student wellness resources on campus
- $35 million of additional funding for Going Pro
- $35 million for a Retraining and Retooling fund
- $30 million for Student Wraparound Services and Basic Needs Supports for students at public colleges and universities and tribal colleges
- $25 million for the College Success Fund to provide
- $20 million for Talent Retention and Expansion efforts
Public Health
- $210.1 million to increase wage support to direct care professionals serving in nursing homes and extended care facilities
- $150 million to establish a Michigan-based insulin manufacturing facility
- $129.7 million for additional Medicaid health access
- $62.1 million to fund Healthy Moms, Healthy babies, a bipartisan program that supports pregnant women, new mothers, and young children
- $58 million to implement recommendations from the Racial Disparities Task Force
- $30 million increase in support to local health departments
- $15 million to create a new foster care respite care program
- $6.2 million to fund the Medicaid Plan First! program
Public Safety
- $50.4 million to leverage the State Police Training Academy to serve as a criminal justice training hub
- $36.6 million in new statutory revenue sharing (2% ongoing and 5% one-time) dedicated specifically for public safety, including employee recruitment, retention, training, and equipment for first responders
- $18.2 million to provide in-service training to licensed law enforcement officers
- $11.5 million for the Selfridge Air National Guard Base to improve and maintain infrastructure at the base
- $10.8 million to establish the Office of Community Violence Intervention Services
- $10.4 million to improve safety and accountability in correctional facilities
- $9 million to run a Michigan State Police Trooper Recruit School
- $5 million to enact various recommendations from the Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform
- $5 million to expand the Jobs Court
- $1.9 million to implement gun violence prevention policies
- $72 million increase over current year funding for Michigan Indigent Defense Commission
Rebuilding Infrastructure
Roads, Bridges, Transit, Electrification
- $350 million in a reserve designed to allow the State to leverage infrastructure dollars
- $200 million investment supporting Michigan's Bridge Bundling program
- $160 million for Intermodal Capital Investment Grants
- $65 million to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure networks and access
- $41.2 million for the Information Technology and Investment Fund
- $45 million for the Michigan Clean Fleet Initiative
- $10 million to begin the transition the of State of Michigan’s fleet to electric vehicles.
- $6.6 million to improve permitting processes and reduce permit issuance wait times.
Housing
- $212 million for residential energy efficiency improvements
- $100 million for the Community Downtown Economic Development Program
- $50 million in funding for Revitalization and Placemaking Program grants
- $50 million for the Housing and Community Development Program
- $15 million to address workforce housing needs in the food and agriculture industry
- $10 million to acquire, renovate and resell State Land Bank properties
Water, Parks, Agriculture, Environment
- $226 million to remove and replace 40,000 lead service lines across the state over 10 years
- $122.5 million to ensure the quality and safety of Michigan drinking water
- $100 million to establish an environmental justice contaminated site clean-up fund
- $5.2 million for orphan oil and gas well remediation
- $10 million in funding for MI Climate Smart Farming
- $7.8 million in state parks operations funding
- $5 million for Michigan Saves to incentivize private investment in clean energy
Michigan Economic Development
- $500 million annual deposit in the State’s bipartisan Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund
- $200 million over 10 years for the Onshoring Clean Energy Supply Chain Tax Credit
- $200 million for the Michigan Regional Empowerment Program
- $135 million for the Michigan Main Street Initiative
- $15 million in federal funding to supplement the $15 million ongoing funding for Pure Michigan
- $10 million to support outdoor recreation businesses
- $10 million to promote Michigan as a destination for special events and national conventions
- $5 million for the Michigan Defense Center
- $2 million for the Arsenal of Innovation Fund
2024 Michigan Budget by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
Michigan Budget presentation by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
