Michigan Legislature passes $6 6B in federal virus aid - Grand Rapids Business Journal grbj.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from grbj.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Gov. Whitmer proposed using a budget surplus to finally eliminate a funding gap among K-12 districts, 27 years after Michigan overhauled the financing of public education.
Michigan Governor s Office
“With the resources we have available to us thanks to federal aid and a state surplus, we can making lasting, transformative investments in our kids and schools that will have positive impacts for generations,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday in a statement.
LANSING Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday proposed using a budget surplus to finally eliminate a funding gap among K-12 districts, 27 years after Michigan overhauled the financing of public education.
Under the Democratic governor s revised proposal, districts and charter schools would receive $8,692 in base per-student aid from the state. That is $581, or 7 percent, more for about 84 percent of traditional districts and charter schools. Districts at the higher end would get an additional $163, or a nearly 2 percent increase.
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Lansing Michigan has about $2 billion more in revenue than initially expected for this fiscal year, state fiscal leaders concluded Friday, thanks in large part to federal stimulus dollars and increased consumer spending on goods.
Budget experts also adjusted expected revenue for the fiscal year 2022 budget upwards from January estimates by $1.5 billion at the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference. There has just been an incredible amount of federal income support over the past 13 months, and that’s played a big role in our forecast, said Jim Stansell, senior economist for the House Fiscal Agency.
The meeting came a day after the GOP-led Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer agreed to begin working together on the state budget and distribute billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funding, some of which dates back to December.
Michigan lawmakers OK COVID-19 spending bills; budget chief concerned
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Posted at 6:56 AM, May 14, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-14 06:56:34-04
LANSING, Mich. (AP) â Michigan legislators on Thursday approved mid-year spending bills, including billions of federal coronavirus relief to boost pay for frontline government workers, incentivize unemployed people to return to work and upgrade infrastructure.
Under a $3.3 billion plan sent to the Senate by the Republican-led House on a 65-42 vote, some of the U.S. funding would go toward payroll costs and free up state dollars to pay the stateâs million Flint water crisis settlement â instead of borrowing â and partially replenish an unemployment benefits fund targeted by fraudsters. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmerâs administration questioned some elements, saying federal guidance clearly states that COVID-19 funds cannot be used to pay down debt, bol