The Michigan House of Representatives approved a proposed state budget Wednesday night, setting a faster pace for the budget process as the state Senate moves toward approving its own bills.

House Republicans hailed their $75.8 billion budget as being focused on affordability. The plan provides nearly $5 billion less than the current state budget and includes cuts across most departments, including Health and Human Services, Labor and Economic Opportunity, and Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

"Our approach has been to go to actually what we're spending, and to be not only responsible but responsive to what the needs are across the state," said State Representative Ann Bollin, chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

The spending bills passed with all Democrats and two Republicans voting against the legislation. Democrats have been skeptical of the House's tactics, arguing lawmakers cannot cut their way to a balanced budget. The Republican proposal assumes the state will be spending $300 million less on Medicaid as new work requirements and other federal rules get put into place.

"The House, which has really driven the discussion the last cycle and this one, are really trying to make things a bit simpler by reducing the amount of categoricals and by pushing that money through the per-pupil allotment," said Senator Ed McBroom.

The House proposal includes several notable changes:

  • A $677.3 million increase for traditional Medicaid Costs but a $149.9 million reduction for the Healthy Michigan Plan
  • A $50 million one-time allocation for payments to districts and ISDs to improve educational outcomes in STEM
  • Increased per-pupil foundation allowance by $250, from $10,050 to $10,300
  • Extension of free school meal programs to private school children
  • More funding for roads and extra money to get kids caught up on reading

House Speaker Matt Hall said passing a budget now gives him more time to personally oversee parts of the budget process. "If I'm in every subcommittee, working with our subcommittees, we're going to win even more in this budget," Hall said.

The state Senate has already begun moving its own budget proposal. A Senate vote on that chamber's plan could happen within the next few weeks. Lawmakers are confident they can send a budget to the governor on time. State law requires lawmakers to pass a new budget by July 1.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has also called for raising new revenue with a plan that leadership in both legislative chambers have expressed some skepticism over.

"This is an early move in the budget-writing process. While some of the spending items could make it to the final budget, many are likely to see dramatic changes before the Democrat-controlled Senate and governor's office agree," said House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri.

"One driver of lowering spending is a projected $1.8 billion funding hole. Much of that stems from lower state revenue and less federal support for social safety net programs like Medicaid and food assistance," said WEMU News.

The episode comes as the House and Senate work toward a July 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Last year, the House did not unveil a budget proposal until August, which added to the state not passing the current budget until after the previous one had run out.