Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill to finalize a new state budget totaling $82.5 billion in time for the new fiscal year that begins October 1.
The Democratic governor signed the bill at a Detroit firehouse to call attention to the spending plan’s funding for public safety. The budget establishes a $75 million Public Safety and Violence Prevention Trust Fund.
Some money would help implement Michigan’s new gun safety laws that took effect this year. That includes extreme risk protection orders and a requirement to keep guns locked up when they’re not in use and children may be around.
“There’s no question we still have a lot of good work to do together, but we are on the path,” Whitmer said. “I’m thinking of young people who are looking at our leadership now and seeing that we’re taking very seriously the trauma of gun violence in the country and the work that we’re doing to keep people safe.”
Local leaders said taking more steps toward addressing gun violence was welcome.
“This investment is a huge win for our community,” said Pastor Barry Randolph of Church of the Messiah. “These funds will allow us to ensure that these new gun laws will save lives in our neighborhood here in Detroit and in communities like it across the state.”
He said the money will be used by local governments and community groups to educate service organizations, domestic violence shelters, and legal aid clinics on the law and to distribute trigger locks.
The $59 billion spending bill signed Wednesday also includes funding for affordable housing, business incentives, and restarting the Palisades nuclear power plant in southwest Michigan.
“As we all know, companies look at everything from business climate to quality of life and reliable infrastructure when they expand or move,” she said. “To keep leading, our approach needs to be a bit like the title of last year’s movie ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once.’”
Republicans took aim at projects in the budget that were awarded specifically to Democratic lawmakers’ districts.
“This year, we didn’t even get to draw the short stick because we were outside in the rain watching through the window as they handed out money to their friends and political allies,” said Rep. John Roth (R-Interlochen) in an emailed statement. “The money my community was asking for comes from our tax dollars and would’ve funded key infrastructure projects that have been put off for decades.”
Whitmer vetoed some line items in the budget that had been placed there by Democratic lawmakers. She said that was because they had not been part of budget negotiations.
The governor signed the state's education budget for the next fiscal year on Monday.
