Dear Friend,

A Balanced, Fiscally Responsible Budget

Since I took office, we have paid down $21 billion of debt?more than either of the 2 previous administrations.

We brought Michigan's rainy-day fund to an all-time high of $2 billion, and we established a new rainy-day fund for schools, setting aside nearly half a billion dollars for the future of our children?s education. We did all this without raising taxes on Michiganders by a dime. In fact, last year, we delivered $1 billion of tax relief, rolling back the retirement tax and quintupling the Working Families Tax Credit.

In this year?s State of the State, I proposed a bold vision on several priorities, including education, costs, and economic development. I know a lot of people who watched my speech rightfully asked: how the heck are we going to pay for this stuff while balancing our budget??

We're going to get it done because of smart financial management.

Over the last few years, we paid down certain debt from MPSERS?the retirement program for educators?early. It's kind of like paying off your mortgage early. Thanks to that prudent move, Michigan has freed up an extra $670 million to use this year and in the years ahead. These extra resources will be used to deliver another balanced budget that makes a deposit into the state?s rainy day fund?bringing it to $2.2 billion?while investing in efforts like lowering costs for Michigan students without raising taxes.?

Let?s dig into how my budget proposal delivers for Michiganders.

Lowering Costs

Costs are the top-of-mind challenge for Michiganders right now. ?

My budget proposal takes action to make life more affordable by lowering costs on the biggest expenses in people?s budgets: housing, transportation, health care, education, utilities, and food.

Housing

We face a serious housing challenge statewide, with 50% of renters and 25% of homeowners spending over 30% of their income on housing. In other words, the rent is too damn high and we don?t have enough damn housing!?

Our solution is simple: build, baby, build!

Next fiscal year, MSHDA will invest a record-breaking $1.4 billion to construct or renovate nearly 10,000 homes using existing loan funds and bond money. That?s the largest housing investment in Michigan?s history. This won't require a single dollar from my budget proposal, thanks to MSHDA's efficient financial management. In this budget, we will support MSHDA?s efforts by funding housing and community revitalization projects that make our small towns and big cities better places to live, work, and invest.

Health Care

In tandem with the Biden-Harris administration, we?ve made strides to tackle the cost of prescription drugs and expand health coverage in the past few years.

For the first time, Medicare now negotiates drug prices directly, while insulin costs are capped at $35 monthly. I've proposed the Caring for MI Family Tax Credit, offering up to $5,000 in tax savings for those caring for an aging or sick relative.

In this budget, let?s continue our commitment to lowering health care costs by eliminating Medicaid premiums for both adults and children. This includes maintaining $0 premiums for MIChild, and ensuring affordable comprehensive coverage for uninsured Michiganders aged 19 and under. Our efforts save parents money and ensure access to care for every Michigan child in need.

The Michigan Guarantee

This year let?s deliver on what I?m calling the ?Michigan Guarantee.? It's a simple idea with huge implications: Every child in Michigan deserves a high-quality, public education from pre-K through postsecondary.?

Pre-K for All

It starts with pre-K. Last year, I proposed Pre-K for all by the end of 2026. In this budget, I propose getting it done 2 years ahead of schedule, saving parents $10,000 a year and giving every child a solid academic foundation.

Child Care

Child care is an essential bridge to education for kids with working parents. Moms and dads should be able to go back to work with confidence knowing their kids are safe and cared for.

In this budget, I propose increased support for child care providers. This includes offering child care workers free care for their own children and boosting funding for providers to expand slots and enhance facilities. We?ll also lead by example as one of the state?s largest employers by saving State of Michigan employees thousands on their child care expenses.

Improving K-12

To improve K-12 education, we will make another historic investment in our kids and schools.

This budget keeps feeding our kids free breakfast and lunch at school, saving parents over $850 a year on grocery bills and valuable time every morning. In this budget, we will also leverage federal funding to feed students over the summer. This benefits 900,000 kids, and I?m proud we can get it done. Our kids should never go hungry.

The budget also proposes raising per-pupil funding to another record high, keeping the funding gap between schools closed, and ensuring students who need extra support get it. Additionally, I proposed funding to make campuses safer, better places to learn with continued funding for campus safety and mental health.?

College and Skills Training

We?ll continue chasing our Sixty by 30 goal, to have 60% of working adults earn a postsecondary education or skills training by 2030. When I took office, we were at 45%. Today, we?re above 51%.

Republicans and Democrats have already worked together to lower the age of the bipartisan Michigan Reconnect program to 21 and established the Michigan Achievement Scholarship. Both programs lower costs for Michiganders pursuing a higher education.

In this budget, we?re going further. I?m proposing offering every single high school graduate the chance to earn an associate degree or skills training at a community college, tuition-free. This is a transformational opportunity for students, helping them save more than $4,000 a year and giving them a path to a better-paying, high-skill job in a career they love.

From Pre-K for All to Community College for All, this budget delivers on the Michigan Guarantee. ?

Make it in Michigan

The budget proposes investments in workforce and economic development so young people can find good-paying opportunities right here in Michigan.?

With this budget, we will fire up our Innovation Fund investing in high-growth start-ups that will create the future, right here in Michigan. With the Innovation Fund, we can launch hundreds of new Michigan-based startups and create thousands of jobs. Let?s build an ecosystem for innovation.

We are going to continue to fund programs to power workforce development, including Going Pro, talent action teams, and our new office for Community and Worker Economic Transition. We must continue to develop the future of advanced manufacturing without leaving any person or place behind.?

Our inclusive economic agenda supports rural economies, too. The budget boosts funding for the Office of Rural Prosperity and creates a new Farm to Family program that supports regenerative farming, agriculture supply chains, and Michigan-made produce and products.

Infrastructure

Of course, we will keep fixing the damn roads, bridges, pipes, and everything in between.

We?ve fixed 20,000 lane miles and 1,400 bridges since I took office, and this year will be the final year of the Rebuilding Michigan Plan. With the final $700 million bond, we?ll keep fixing our most economically critical roads and bridges.

To keep this momentum going, my budget proposes matching funds to draw in federal investments from President Biden?s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. If we make this strategic investment, we can bring home billions of our tax dollars to invest in Michigan?s infrastructure.

The budget puts an additional $400 million towards improving local roads, highways, and bridges?totaling almost $1.1 billion with the final Rebuilding Michigan bond to fix the damn roads.

Public Safety

This year, let?s build on the $1.5 billion of bipartisan public safety investments we?ve made since I took office.

In this budget, we will help local and county governments hire, train, and retain more police officers, firefighters, and EMS. We?ll graduate another class of Michigan State Police Troopers.

We?ll continue tackling the root causes of crime by funding proven community violence intervention programs to reduce shootings and save lives. And we?ll expand our behavioral health capacity, expanding access to mental health services for more Michiganders of all ages.?

Let?s keep prioritizing public safety and build a safer, more just state for all.

This budget is focused on the fundamentals.

It invests in housing, lowering costs, improving education, keeping communities safe, and fixing our infrastructure.

It's balanced, fiscally responsible, and delivers on the issues that make a real difference in people?s lives.

Together, let?s deliver another balanced, bipartisan budget and build a strong economy where anyone can ?make it.??

Let?s get it done.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Whitmer

Governor

Read more about what's in Governor Whitmer's fiscal year 2025 Executive Budget Recommendation.