LANSING, Mich.(WZMQ) – Michigan’s newly finalized state budget is roughly $800 million smaller than last year’s, according to House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, who called it the most decisive budget win for Republicans in years.
“I viewed it as the most decisive victory for the Republicans in a budget in a long time,” Hall said during a press availability with reporters.
Hall said the cuts came without raising taxes or fees and without touching the state’s rainy day fund. He pointed to reductions across several state departments, including a 30% cut to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, a 13% cut to the general fund portion of the Department of Natural Resources, and smaller cuts elsewhere. He also said the state eliminated thousands of vacant, unfilled positions he described as “ghost employees.”
One of the most contested pieces of the budget involves RX Kids, a cash-assistance program for new mothers. The program’s dedicated $20 million line item was removed from the budget, though Hall said that money was redirected into other funding pots, including programs like WIC and child protective services
Hall said the change was driven by concerns about the program’s lack of eligibility requirements.
“We know that RX Kids does not have any eligibility requirements. It doesn’t check citizenship,” Hall said, adding that recipients are not required to demonstrate financial need.
When reporters noted that RX Kids’ administrators say the program can still technically access that $20 million through the other funds, Hall said that was not his intent.
“My view is that they will not be eligible for those pots and that’s why I picked them,” he said, explaining he selected funding categories he believes RX Kids does not qualify for.
RX Kids received $250 million in state funding last year, and Hall said he expects the program to rely on that money rather than pursue the newly reallocated $20 million.
Lawmakers and independent fiscal analysts continue to disagree over the exact size of the state’s overall spending reduction, with some organizations citing different topline figures depending on how federal funding is counted. Hall maintains that, using figures from Michigan’s nonpartisan fiscal agencies, the budget represents an $800 million year-over-year cut, matching last year’s reduction of the same size.
