MICHIGAN BUDGET

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the final piece of a $76 billion state budget into law Wednesday, largely backing the plan legislators approved but vetoing money that Republicans funneled toward anti-abortion causes including groups that run “pregnancy resource centers” focused on persuading pregnant women to give birth.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to repeal the state’s retirement tax -- here’s a look at how the tax works and why she wants to end it.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proposing to spend $74 billion in her budget for the next fiscal year.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed budget is being presented Wednesday morning to state lawmakers in Lansing.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is rolling out some of her budget priorities for the year.

On Thursday, the Washtenaw County Health Department released a statement about the legality of its emergency orders for educational settings.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday will deem some Republican-backed budget provisions unconstitutional attempts to restrict COVID-19 public health measures but allow language limiting potential state and municipal vaccination requirements.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday will deem some Republican-backed budget provisions unconstitutional attempts to restrict COVID-19 public health measures but allow language limiting potential state and municipal vaccination requirements.

Michigan lawmakers who have finished passing the state budget will next turn to allocating an unprecedented amount of federal COVID-19 rescue funding — money that largely is flexible and can be spent however the state decides.

Michigan will make more kids eligible for child care subsidies, equip state troopers with body cameras and make permanent a pandemic wage hike for caregivers under the next state budget.

Billions of dollars on a deadline can change a freezeout in a hurry.

Gretchen Whitmer submitted her third budget for the state of Michigan Thursday. Whitmer looks to draw down on the Michigan General Fund by $11.5 billion and the School Aid Fund by $14.7 billion. “This is a restrained budget,” Whitmer said. Whitmer wants $360 million to keep in place the $2 an hour wage increase for direct care workers and wants another $38 million to help nursing homes. $300 million has been planned for bridge repair and she wants to help Michigan cities with a $175 million budget stabilization for COVID response.

FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2021, file photo provided by the Michigan Office of the Governor, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday proposed a $67 billion state budget that she said would aid Michigan's pandemic recovery by solidifying new programs to expand eligibility for free community college tuition, bolstering child care assistance and boosting local bridge repairs. AdThe governor said she focused on putting people back to work and a safe return to in-person instruction at schools. Whitmer wants to finish legislative negotiations by the end of June, three months before the budget would start. A lot of adolescents lose care when they become adults, he said, due to a coverage gap.

Gretchen Whitmer is expected to pitch a multibillion-dollar pandemic relief plan during Wednesday’s State of State speech that would prioritize coronavirus vaccinations and additional aid to schools and businesses amid the crisis. The proposal came a week after Whitmer sent the Republican-controlled Legislature a $5.6 billion relief plan that would use recently enacted federal aid and state funds. Whitmer said recent events -- such as the highly contagious B.1.1.7 strain closing down Michigan Athletics and putting athletes, coaches team-staff into quarantine -- should be considered. The precautions include mandatory mask wearing, limited indoor dining, social distancing; and indoor and contact sports not being permitted. Read: Tracking coronavirus cases, outbreaks in Michigan schoolsMore: Return to School

LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed a $62.7 billion state budget hours before the new fiscal year, funding a new tuition-assistance program for adults while avoiding major government cuts despite the economic downturn during the coronavirus pandemic. The plan, which had bipartisan legislative support, also includes a slight boost in aid for schools and a full or partial restoration of tourism and job-training funds that were vetoed amid an impasse a year ago and again when COVID-19 struck. The process was delayed this year due to uncertainty over the pandemic’s effect on tax revenues but eased by a $3 billion federal rescue that helped balance the current and new budgets. “It was robustly supported in a bipartisan way, which in this current political climate is quite a feat.”Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan has a budget in place for 2021 that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. The coronavirus originally had the state making dire budget predictions that there would be a more than $1 billion hole to fill. Road funding gets the full $600 million expected and some programs, which were axed in the last budget like Pure Michigan, are being funded again. An item that is being cut at a $12 million saving is the Detroit Re-Entry Center, which does prisoner programming. The Michigan Department of Corrections is also slimming down administration for a $2.5 million saving.

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan lawmakers Wednesday swiftly proposed and passed a $62.7 billion budget that will keep spending flat thanks to a federal rescue and avoid major cuts that had been feared due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the $17.6 billion education budget, which the Senate and House approved 36-1 and 103-2, K-12 will see a 1.4% funding boost. In the $45.1 billion general budget, the governor and lawmakers agreed to restore funding she had vetoed in March to save money due to the pandemic. Departments will trim a total of $250 million, largely through reductions in the multibillion-dollar Medicaid budget that will not directly affect services, said state spokesman Kurt Weiss. As part of the federal relief package, the state government received $3 billion in assistance.

LANSING, Mich. – Billions of dollars from the federal government have helped keep Michigan afloat amid financial hardships caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With the federal government’s help, two of the major traditional budget concerns in Michigan -- K-12 schools and local revenue sharing -- will not take any cuts. House Appropriations Chairman Shane Hernandez tells Local 4 News that the federal government bought Michigan some time. “They bought us time to understand COVID, understand how we deal with it and open our businesses and schools," Hernandez said. Hernandez believes that Michigan businesses cannot afford to operate under such heavy restrictions much longer.

LANSING, Mich. Michigan's budget outlook is not as bad as was thought thanks to federal pandemic relief aid, higher consumer spending and tax payments than expected, and a quicker recovery by the manufacturing and auto industries, officials said Monday. Gretchen Whitmer's administration and legislative economists projected a combined $6.3 billion shortfall in the state's two main funds over this fiscal year and next. That means the situation is not as dire as the Democratic governor and Republican-led Legislature begin work to pass a budget to start Oct. 1. State budget director Chris Kolb estimated a hole of less than $1 billion in the combined $23 billion school aid and general funds, down from a potential $3 billion shortfall. These are large revenue losses that will require difficult decisions without additional federal aid, especially in fiscal year '22.

LANSING, Mich. Lawmakers met in Lansing Friday to discuss a massive hole in the states budget -- all due to the cost of COVID-19 and the stay-at-home orders. The School Aid Fund is down $2.2 billion, making school districts brace for big cuts. RELATED: Lawmakers warn Michigan schools to prepare for significant budget cutsChris Kolb, Michigans Budget Director, is also insisting that the federal government assist the state, but theres no guarantees any help is coming. You can watch Shawn Leys full story above. The Consensus Revenue Estimate for 2020-21 and 2021-22 can be read below.

Published: February 6, 2020, 10:38 am Updated: February 6, 2020, 11:30 am(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. Gretchen Whitmer’s fiscal year 2021 Executive Budget Recommendation was outlined on Thursday at the state Capitol. State Budget Director Chris Kolb outlines the governor’s budget recommendation during to a joint session of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Whitmer delivered her second State of the State address last week. She introduced a plan to fix Michigan roads without increasing the gas tax.