State Senate Sends New Supplemental Budget Bill To Governor

Pure Michigan, the Going PRO talent fund, and coronavirus mitigation efforts are included in a supplemental budget bill on its way to Governor Whitmer for her signature. The state Senate voted 36-2 to approve the bill Thursday, with Republican Senators Aric Nesbitt of Lawton and Jon Bumstead of Newaygo being the only ones to vote against it. Bumstead said on the Senate floor that the funding bill had too many pet projects that hadn’t been vetted properly. The bill includes $25 million for battling coronavirus, and restores $16 million for the popular Pure Michigan travel and tourism campaign that had been cut by a line item veto last fall by Governor Whitmer. She had reached an agreement with Republican leaders to put money back into that program, along with $15 million for the Going PRO talent fund, which rewards employers for helping train, develop, and retain current and newly hired workers.

A High Water Infrastructure Repair program would receive $5 million to provide grants that counties, cities, villages and townships could compete for to help fix public infrastructure damage from, or implement preventive measures against, high water and shoreline erosion.