Democrats in the Michigan Legislature are figuring out their next move following a sudden, unilateral action by the House Republican majority to cut $645 million out of the current state budget.
The obscure budget maneuver applies to money allocated to multiyear projects that was unspent at the end of the last fiscal year, and it does not require concurrence from the Senate or Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The funding that was cut includes prenatal and newborn programs, museums and symphonies, and Flint water crisis recovery.
House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said Republicans have been on the hunt for fraud and abuse in the budget and much of that $645 million is unvetted projects that were approved while Democrats were in control of the Legislature. He said some of the spending would likely be approved upon further review, but the allocations would have to be considered in an open and public process.
“We’re going to find, I’ll bet, that a lot of them don’t get resubmitted because they’re going to have to go through that transparent process now,” Hall said Thursday.
Democrats were incensed. Some said the fact that the vote came with little notice belied commitment to an open process.
They also said community organizations were caught unaware and would have to scramble to make up for lost revenue.
House Minority Leader Ranjiv Puri (D-Canton) said Democrats are looking at how they might respond. He said legal action is a possibility.
“All options are on the table,” he said. “Look, I think the problem with the dynamic that’s been set up is that this is an unprecedented maneuver and so we’re all trying to figure out what exactly is happening.”
Senate Democrats said the House action, even if it is legal, violated the terms of a bipartisan budget deal heading into the new round of spending negotiations.
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) did not hold back in a statement from her office.
“There’s a special place in hell for someone willing to yank money away from moms and babies 15 days before Christmas,” she said.
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