While Michigan slept, a budget was presented, passed

By Kyle Melin

You may not have noticed the irony that the Michigan Senate passed a promised expansion of the Public Access to State Records Act on the same night it passed the most secretive budget in modern history, but I did.

Last week, the Senate stalled bills (which have stalled in the state House of Representatives) that would create a bureaucracy dedicated to denying or heavily redacting any public records requests you make to the state legislature or governor.

Today, you can request financial documents from the House and Senate under their internal rules, but there’s little else. Under those laws, you can request financial documents from Parliament, but not much else outside of a Parliament’s public calendar.

But don’t worry about the weak enlargement. MEPs won’t pass it anyway. They need to win re-election.

I only mention it because it brings up the irony mentioned earlier: The same Senate stayed up until 5 a.m. to pass an $82.5 billion federal budget for the period October 1 to September 30, 2025, that literally no one with a normal sleep pattern read.

The reason for this is that the 1,519-page spending documents were not made publicly available until five minutes after midnight on June 27. At 12:05 a.m., a sham committee met to unveil a public spending plan measure that had been drafted with literally as much openness as the old redistricting process.

When the committee’s secretary was asked to explain the contents of those 1,519 pages, he said: “Because of the late hour, I will be brief.” He then gave a few figures to a room of about 10 people. A motion was made to adopt the document. A vote was taken. The chairman banged the gavel on the table.

Reps. Angela Witwer and Sarah Anthony of Central Michigan, who had been hatching the whole thing over the past few months along with the governor’s budget office, several other lawmakers and a group of staff, disappeared into thin air before too many questions were asked.

Between 12:05 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the budget after a relaxed debate. One of the 72 Republicans in the House voted for it.

Viola! A “bipartisan” budget was passed! And all while you were sleeping!

There was no need to look at the spending analyses because unless you are a nocturnal animal with the sleeping habits of an opossum, you wouldn’t have been able to read them anyway.

This is your state government working for you in 2024.

Between January and June of this year, House Speaker Joe Tate was like a broken record when it came to the chamber’s sole priority for 2024: the budget. Tate talked about little else. Last year, the House also passed a budget, along with a truckload of other policy priorities. This year, it was just the budget.

There was nothing special about this year’s budget. The Constitution requires it, just as the calendar requires Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.

Michigan’s government didn’t have much money to spare, nor was the state bankrupt. The only difference is that 2024 is an election year, and Democrats will struggle to maintain their 56-seat majority in the House of Representatives, especially with a barely able-bodied 81-year-old as their presidential candidate.

To recap, the House of Representatives unveiled and passed its stated priorities No. 1, 2, and 3 for the ENTIRE YEAR while most normal people were sleeping.

This example of poor governance might have caused more excitement if the budget had been particularly interesting, but it was not.

Back in February, the governor said she wanted to:

— An increase in the basic allowance for public schools by 2.5%.

— Universal preschool for 4-year-olds.

— $1,000 off all newly purchased cars

— a $5,000 family caregiver tax credit.

She didn’t get any of it.

Instead, she got schools and teachers to reduce their pension income, which was heavily criticised by the school community because the cuts were not permanent.

It also has a few hundred thousand dollars left on its balance sheet that it can spend on potential economic development projects this fall.

Don’t ask which ones. We’ll all find out after the deal is done and the bills are passed.

If we’re lucky, during the daytime hours.

(Email Kyle Melinn of Capitol Intelligence Service MIRS at [email protected].)