Brad Paquette, R, represents the 78th District, which covers Berrien County. 

In September, the legislature passed 16 balanced budgets that funds our state government. Most enjoyed bipartisan support because they were balanced budgets that sought to appropriately fund priorities like schools, police, veterans and environmental protection without a tax increase. Once the bills were passed by both chambers of the legislature, they were sent to the governor for review and signature.

I appreciate that there were differences of opinion between the legislature and the governor on certain items. That’s bound to happen in divided government. What I was shocked by was that the governor would line item veto bipartisan priorities in an effort to gain leverage for her forty-five-cent gas tax increase. Many of the line items that were funded by the legislature, but cut by the governor, play an important role in delivering services that people rely on. Some of the line vetoes include:

• Autism Navigator — a statewide database that helps connect individuals and families to autism services and resources

• Senior Citizen Program Grants — helps senior centers provide mental and physical health programs so seniors can stay in their homes

• County Veteran Services Fund — used by county veteran service officers to connect veterans with the benefits they’ve earned

• Pediatric Psychiatric Rate Increase — would have increased the reimbursement rate for all pediatric psychiatric services

• Going Pro — provides training that helps people find employment

• Co-Responder Crisis Services Pilot — would have created a resource for police officers to use if they needed help with crisis stabilization service for someone with mental health issues

• Secondary Road Patrol — pays sheriff departments to hire deputies to specifically patrol local roads

Another troubling development was the governor’s wide spread use of the State Administrative Board. In our state constitution, the legislative branch is meant to control the purse strings, but the board was included to allow the governor to move funds within a department to respond to emergencies. Unfortunately, the governor decided to use the board to rewrite department budgets based on what she wanted. In total, she moved $625 million between multiple departments. For the sake of checks and balances, which isn’t just a bolded term in a textbook, I think it’s cause for concern when the governor shows a lack of respect for the spending decisions made by the people’s branch of government.

It was disappointing to see the break in trust between the legislature and the governor based on these vetoes. However, I am very hopeful that the leadership in the legislature and the governor will be able to come together to fund these important priorities.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office if you need assistance dealing with red tape at the state level. My staff and I are happy to help in any way we can.