State Rep. Ann Bollin today voted against a $82.5 billion spending plan that prioritizes pet projects over the critical needs of Michigan residents in the new state budget.

Bollin, R-Brighton Township, said the plan relies on a tax increase that has families, seniors and small businesses handing over more of their hard-earned money to the state. It also raids teachers’ retirement accounts to the tune of $670 million. Meanwhile, the budget drastically reduces school safety funding and ignores local roads that are badly in need of repair.

“This budget funnels funds into projects that don’t address the real issues at hand,” Bollin said. “It funds political projects and social programs while neglecting crucial areas like infrastructure, public safety, and other essential government services.”

The new budget cuts school safety and mental health grant funding by more than $300 million, leaving just $26.5 million to help schools fund resource officers, mental health services, and other critical programs that protect kids.

The budget also phases out funding for the Michigan Tuition Grant program, which provides critical financial support to approximately 15,000 students across the state who attend independent colleges and universities.

Pet projects like a $7.5 million drone program, $3 million in incentives for people who purchase e-bikes, and a $25 million program to build state-owned EV charging stations received funding. A commission to coordinate a celebration marking the United States semiquincentennial two years from now also received $5 million.

The budget also funds hundreds of millions of dollars in pork projects that were added at the last minute, including $17 million for zoos in Lansing and Metro Detroit, $2.5 million for professional baseball stadiums, $5 million for a theater in Detroit, $18 million for various public and private sports facilities, $1.9 million for a pool in Saginaw, and $300,000 to cover public Wi-Fi in downtown Detroit.

Past recipients of these “enhancement” grants have misused state funding, including one prominent MEDC appointee who created a new business and then used a $20 million grant to pay for first-class plane tickets and a $4,500 coffee maker.

A $500 million earmark is included for the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) fund, which funds handouts for big corporations that promise to invest in economic development projects, even though needed reforms to improve transparency and accountability have not been made.

“The budget pours hundreds of millions into corporate handouts and special interest projects, yet fails to introduce safeguards to ensure proper use,” Bollin said. “We’ve seen these funds misused on luxuries like first-class travel and expensive coffee makers, rather than creating the jobs they were intended for, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The new state budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 was pushed through the House early this morning in two party-line votes.

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