LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Michigan House of Representatives approved its version of the state’s 2025-26 budget on Tuesday, advancing a $78.5 billion spending plan that now heads into negotiations with the Senate and Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Lawmakers face a September 30 deadline to finalize a budget and avoid a potential government shutdown.
The House proposal is smaller than last year’s $82.5 billion state budget and makes several structural changes to department funding. Republican leaders, who hold a majority in the chamber, described the plan as prioritizing core services while reducing government inefficiencies. The proposal includes funding for K-12 education, higher education, and the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential.
A central feature of the plan is a $3.4 billion roads package, which House Republicans say will repair bridges and improve state and local highways. The plan directs $300 million specifically toward bridge repairs and is designed to be funded without new tax increases.
Public safety also receives targeted funding, including support for 120 new state police troopers, upgrades to the state’s emergency communications system, and grants for local community violence prevention programs. Over all funding for the Michigan State Police sees a dip, but House Republicans say the Public Safety trust fund will fill in the gaps for local law enforcement.
Education remains a major portion of the spending plan. The House budget maintains record-level funding for K-12 schools but shifts some dollars into broader categories, House leaders saying it gives local districts more flexibility in determining how funds are used. Supporters argue this approach gives schools more authority to meet students’ needs, while Democrats raised concerns about whether categorical reductions could create gaps in specific student programs.
House Republicans also announced that the plan eliminates what they described as $5 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse by cutting unfilled state jobs and consolidating programs across departments. GOP lawmakers said the process gave subcommittee chairs more authority over their individual budgets, a change they argue improved accountability.
Democratic lawmakers criticized the plan, saying reductions in healthcare and human services could impact vulnerable residents. State Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) said the proposal risks cuts to programs that working families, children, and seniors rely on. Healthcare groups offered mixed responses: EMS providers praised provisions to reimburse ambulance services, while hospital leaders warned that reductions in other areas could create challenges for patient care.
With the House plan approved, the focus now shifts to negotiations with the Senate, which passed its version in June, and with Governor Whitmer. The two chambers and the governor must reconcile differences before sending a final budget to Whitmer’s desk.
The Michigan Constitution requires the Legislature to pass a balanced budget by September 30. If no agreement is reached by then, the state faces the possibility of a government shutdown.
