LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Kevin Daley recently supported legislative efforts to restore several of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s vetoes — many of which negatively impacted communities across the 31st Senate District.
“I joined my colleagues in voting to put an end to this artificially created budget crisis,” said Daley, R-Lum. “The people of Michigan deserve better. Many have been left wondering if the assistance or programs they rely on will be available; schools have since started without their payments; and local governments are left in limbo. This is not an effective or efficient way to govern, and my colleagues and I have spent months fighting to restore taxpayer priorities.”
The Legislature approved measures to restore a total of $573.5 million of the governor’s vetoed funding and administrative funding transfers. The legislation largely focuses on restoring funding to the most critical state services.
The bills would restore funding to treat Alzheimer’s, autism, and opioid addiction. Cuts to sheriff road patrols that aid local police departments and rural and critical care hospitals would also be restored, and charter and rural schools would receive the payments they were expecting.
“The action taken by the Legislature gives the governor an opportunity to restore crucial funding that her October vetoes removed from schools and programs throughout my district and from communities throughout the state,” Daley said. “She has signaled that she will support these efforts and I hope that is true. This is the first year in nearly a decade that the budget wasn’t completed on time, and I certainly hope she decides to restore this crucial funding.”
The Senate also approved Senate Bills 616 and 618, which would limit state administrative board transfers and set in statute a target deadline of July 1 for the Legislature to present a budget to the governor.
The budget funding restorations have been sent to the governor for consideration, while SBs 616 and 618 have been passed by the Senate and sent to the House for further deliberation.
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