Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved her final state budget July 21, calling the spending plan a win for tackling cost of living challenges and blunting the impact of what she described as damaging federal changes that affect the state and its residents.
“At a time when Michiganders are struggling with higher costs, this budget puts money in their pockets,” she said in a July 21 statement included in a news release announcing her signature of the budget.
The budget trims spending for some state agencies and represents a compromise between Democratic and Republican lawmakers as the state grappled with added costs resulting from federal law changes, such as new work requirements for Medicaid, plus reduced federal funding for certain programs. Whitmer said the budget “protects Michiganders from the harms of HR 1, DC Republicans’ big ugly bill,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
The budget includes no tax hikes. Lawmakers in both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected hundreds of millions of dollars in higher taxes proposed by Whitmer, including: higher taxes on tobacco and vaping products, expected to raise about $300 million; higher taxes on online gaming and sports betting, expected to raise about $193 million; and a proposed digital advertising tax, expected to raise $282 million. Lawmakers also rejected a proposed withdrawal from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which holds about $2 billion.
The Legislature passed the budget July 3, missing its self-imposed July 1 deadline to send a spending plan to the governor. But Whitmer signed it into law well ahead of the Oct. 1 start of the 2027 fiscal year.
The size of the budget, and how it compares to the 2026 budget, is an area of disagreement. At $52.3 billion, the general government budget for 2027 appears smaller than the $51.8 billion budget initially passed for 2026 and especially the $59.1 billion general government budget initially approved for 2025. But Robert Schneider, a senior research associate with the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, has pointed out that spending totals for both the 2026 and 2027 budget years were artificially reduced through use of contingency funds.
Still, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, touted the budget’s size compared to previous years. “This budget deal moves even more money out of wasteful spending and into the real priorities of Michigan families, like road repairs, schools, and public safety. This plan delivers better value for Michigan’s taxpayers, and I’m glad we were able to get it done together,” he said in a statement.
Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said the budget reflected Democrats’ priorities amid a challenging budget cycle and celebrated the spending plan for “protecting access to food benefits and quality healthcare to investing in affordable housing, safe drinking water, and reliable childcare.”
Whitmer’s signature on the general government budget came after she approved the education budget at a signing ceremony earlier in the day.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer: State budget blunts DC Republicans’ ‘Big Beautiful Bill Act’
Reporting by Paul Egan and Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Paul Egan and Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
