Rep. James DeSana voted against the state budget when it appeared before the House in Lansing last month. Now, he is drawing attention to several line items of alarmingly unnecessary spending.

“Reading through this budget it is clear why it is the largest in our state’s history by far,” DeSana said. “It’s clear where there are kickbacks – a million-dollar increase to give raises to elevator inspectors, for example, smells strongly of a campaign promise kickback to me. But there are more subtle line items that reek of slush fund accounting.”

Specifically, DeSana pointed out a $5 million appropriation to “renovate” a single pool and similar eyebrow raising decisions that total over $1 billion in total for unnecessary public works. This strategy, he believes, sent the Democrat-authored budget’s total skyrocketing over $81 billion.

“We’re spending dramatically more on vague, untraceable construction plans than we are on veteran’s health programs or infrastructure improvements to our roads and bridges,” DeSana said. “This is not a policy-first budget. It is a favor-first budget. The waste is astounding. The Democrats clearly have more respect for their friends in the lobby corps than they do for the hardworking taxpayers at home.”

Rep. DeSana and his office can be reached at (517) 373-0475 or JamesDeSana@house.mi.gov