Why did Gov. Whitmer use her veto authority and shift 2020 budget funds?

During this past summer, the governor and Democratic legislators worked across the aisle with their Republican counterparts to agree on spending bills for a 2020 budget.  Since Republican legislators were unwilling to adequately fund road repair in the budget, the Governor asked the legislature to set aside discussions on road funding until after completing a full budget.

At this point, the governor thought she had an “understanding” with legislators to negotiate/fund all other budget appropriations while working road repair in a supplemental budget.

The original budget “understanding” fell apart as Republican legislators approved a budget including pushing short-term funding for road repairs rather than a long-term solution envisioned by the governor.  Republican legislators also made a last-minute shift of responsibility for the Independent Redistricting Commission (Proposition 2) from the Sec. of State’s office to the legislature that would also cut $1.2 million from the governor’s proposal to fund the commission which Michiganders had voted for in the last election.

Consequently, the governor played “hard ball” by enacting line-item vetoes and moving around $625 million to reflect her priorities to fix the structural problems that Republican budgets created to include preventing a government shut down and ensuring support for the independent commission.

It was disappointing to see the Republican legislators enter into an “understanding” with the governor only to turn their backs on that agreement.  For well over a decade, more Michigan roads have deteriorated than have been improved. This trend must be reversed.  The governor says she is very open to working with state legislators to find an agreed upon, realistic, supplemental budget for road repair. I hope the legislature now steps up in a bipartisan way to help “Fix the ‘d’ Roads” on a long-term basis.

Ken Peterson

Buchanan