The Michigan House Friday sent fiscal year 2013 budget to Gov. Rick Snyder for approval, state Rep. Matt Lori, R-Constantine, announced. Michigan legislators approved the FY 2013 budget months ahead of the constitutional deadline for the second year in a row.
The budget focuses on keeping Michigan financially stable well into the future by eliminating billions of dollars in long-term debt, cutting $200 million in unnecessary spending, and appropriating money into the state’s rainy day fund. Tax dollars saved in other areas of the budget have made room for a proposed tax cut for families, as well as incremental increases in the personal exemption from $3,700 per person to $4,100 by 2017.
“Last year, we made the difficult decisions and balanced expenses with revenue so we could bring fiscal responsibility to Michigan,” said Lori, a subcommittee chairman on the House Department of Community Health Appropriations. “This year, thanks to government spending being under control as well as the state’s improving economy, lawmakers will be able to return some of the taxpayers’ dollars back to the hard-working residents of Michigan.”