Snyder signs budget, but not all his priorities are in there
By Paul Egan Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau
LANSING—Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday signed a 2013-14 state budget that doesn’t address two of his major priorities — expanded Medicaid coverage and raising more than $1 billion in extra revenues for repair and maintenance of state roads and bridges.
But there were positive signs for Snyder on the Medicaid front after the House passed a bill later Thursday to expand Medicaid coverage to 470,000 low-income Michiganders. The bill moves to the Senate.
Also Thursday night, the House passed legislation that would allow the state treasurer and state superintendent of schools to unilaterally dissolve insolvent small school districts. That bill also moves to the Senate.
Snyder said plenty of aspects of the $49.5-billion budget, which includes a $9.4 billion general fund, please him.
“These are very solid budgets,” Snyder said at a news conference about bills dealing with general government and K-12 education. “I’m proud of the hard work that’s gone in to make them happen.”
Snyder and Republican leaders say the budget is structurally balanced, was completed by early June for the third time after years of pushing up against the Oct. 1 deadline, increases spending in education and other key areas, and pays down debt while adding to the state’s savings.
Snyder said funding for K-12 education is up about 3% this year. He also pointed to $65 million extra to provide early childhood education to 16,000 more children and added dental coverage for 70,000 children.
House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, said getting the budget done early isn’t everything.
“It’s not a good budget,” Greimel said Thursday. “I would rather they take a little more time and actually address the priorities that reflect Michigan values.”
Greimel repeated claims that Snyder and the GOP Legislature have cut more than $1 billion from K-12 education since the governor took office
— a charge the administration insists is false.
Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, said Democrats are not counting funding provided to school districts to prepay post-retirement costs, or money districts qualify for on top of their per-pupil allowances by adopting “best practices.”
When those are included, “the average per pupil funding has gone up $632 since the 2011 fiscal year,” Weiss said.
Greimel said it’s fine to pay post-retirement cost, but money is needed now inside classrooms. Snyder says every $1 a district doesn’t spend on benefits can be spent on education.
The $9.4-billion general fund is up 2.2% from 2013.
On roads, bills to increase funding from registration fees and fuel taxes are lingering in a House committee.
As a onetime step, the Legislature allocated an extra $350 million for roads after tax revenues came in higher than anticipated.
Lawmakers also put $75 million into the Rainy Day Fund, bringing its balance to $580 million. The savings fund was $2 million when Snyder took office.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
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