Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she is standing by her first state budget proposal.
Whitmer joined Stateside Monday to discuss the proposal, including the widely-criticized fuel tax increase to pay for road repairs. She says the pain people might feel at the pump would mean fewer dollars spent fixing their cars.
Listen above to hear Stateside's full conversation with Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
“We can do this, but it will take that kind of an investment,” she said. “Anyone who wants to put an alternative plan that gets to that investment on the table, I will work with. I'm interested in seeing what they have.”
Whitmer says roads that are in the worst condition and those that are most economically important to the state would be the highest priority.
The governor is also doubling down on her criticism of Michigan's third-grade reading law. She says the state should provide schools with more educational resources, not hold kids back.
“Telling our kids they're not good enough and they're not successful is not going to fix the problem,” Whitmer said. “What fixes the problem is tripling the number of literacy coaches, increasing the per-pupil foundation, making an investment in our kid's education unlike any we've seen in a generation.”
Whitmer says she hopes to work with the legislature and the State Board of Education to try to overturn the law.
