The Land for Tomorrow Coalition has praised the 2021 State Budget, saying it reflects the highest spending allocation for land and water conservation since the 2008 recession.
Detroit Free Press
Michigan needs to do and spend much more to avoid further disasters like the two dam failures that caused catastrophic flooding in Midland and Gladwin counties in May 2020, the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force states in its final report submitted this week to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The 19-member task force, including state department heads, engineers, dam safety officials and others, was convened by Whitmer following the Edenville and Sanford dam failures on the Tittabawassee River amid record rains last May. The dam failures drained the Wixom Lake and Sanford Lake impoundments, causing devastating flooding downriver in Midland, with more than $250 million in damages. Whitmer asked the task force to take a comprehensive look at the state s 2,500 dams, about 1,100 of which are regulated by the state, and whether their regulation was adequate.
Whitmer
Gov. Whitmer s 2022 budget gets Michigan back to work and supports our schools
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gov. Whitmer’s 2022 budget gets Michigan back to work and supports our schools
Budget plan will equitably grow the economy, expand skills training, provide child care for families, rebuild infrastructure, and help small businesses
LANSING, Mich. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s third executive budget was released today, centered on equitably growing the state’s economy by expanding skills training and childcare for families, providing a further down payment on rebuilding the state’s crumbling bridges and water infrastructure, and helping small businesses recover from the pandemic. State Budget Director David Massaron outlined the recommendations this morning to a joint session of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
9 & 10 News
February 11, 2021
The state of Michigan is already looking to the post-COVID world and how they will pay for everything.
The first hints came Thursday morning as Governor Gretchen Whitmer unveiled her budget plan for the fiscal year 2022.
As with everything in the past year, the weight of COVID-19 hung heavy over the state budget process. Both what it cost the state to fight the pandemic and also a lack of tax revenue as the economy was closed and then slowly re-opened. However, the initial fears weren’t as bad as they turned out to be and that has led Gov. Whitmer to proposing a $67.1 billion budget for next year.
LANSING Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday proposed a $67 billion state budget for fiscal year 2022 she says would “keep Michigan on the road to recovery” from a global pandemic that led to unprecedented health, economic and educational challenges.
The Republican-led Legislature is sure to reject or modify some of the spending initiatives, but the proposal stands as a statement of priorities for the Democratic governor. She claimed it would help Michigan “build back better,” referencing a campaign pledge by President Joe Biden.
The Michigan plan would continue a pandemic pay increase for direct care workers, expand a college tuition program for frontline workers, help replace or repair local bridges, boost K-12 school spending and give districts more money to address learning losses associated with remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.