Governor Gretchen Whitmer will share details of her first proposed budget this week. The centerpiece will be her campaign promise to fix roads and improve other infrastructure.
Most of the Michigan budget is earmarked for specific purposes. The governor says the share of the budget that’s adopted by the Legislature and the governor has gone almost unchanged in two decades.
“We have got to make sure that we make the right investment to rebuild our infrastructure, but also to stop stealing money out of the School Aid Fund, stop taking away from ensuring we have paths to skills,” she said.
Whitmer is a Democrat who will have to win over Republican majorities in the Legislature.
The governor offered a strong hint her plans include asking for more revenue.
“That word has been so vilified, and it is so destructive to a conversation. We have to talk about investing in ourselves. If we want anyone to come and invest in Michigan, we’ve got to invest in ourselves,” Whitmer said. “We’ve got to make sure employers know they’re going to have the skilled workforce, that when they get here, you know, our roads aren’t going to undermine their bottom line.”
Governor Whitmer appeared on Detroit TV station WDIV over the weekend.
She is set to appear Tuesday before a joint meeting of the state House and Senate budget committees.
