LANSING, Mich. — Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, on Thursday issued the following statement following the passage of the state’s 2025 fiscal year budget:
“We were clear from the beginning of this process — we would not support a spending plan based on more debt and higher taxes. Yet, this is precisely what was put before us.
“One year ago, Democrats used their newfound majority to squander the state’s $9 billion surplus, and this year, they have chosen to plow forward with unsustainable overspending that relies on raiding $670 million from the teacher retirement fund and a $700 million income tax hike on hardworking Michiganders.
“Our fundamental beliefs — leaving more resources for families and small businesses, expanding freedom, and encouraging hard work and investment — are the cornerstones of a healthy economy. We know that money is better spent by families putting food on their tables and clothing their kids than it is growing the size of state government.
“The Democrats’ spending spree, financed on the backs of hardworking Michiganders, has quickly become a runaway train jumping off the tracks of fiscal responsibility. Last year, it cost taxpayers a historic budget surplus. This year, it has run down K-12 education — for the first time in over a decade, Michigan’s classrooms will not receive an increase in per-pupil funding and investments in school safety, and student mental health will be slashed by 90%. These cuts are tragic and unnecessary.
“The type of irresponsible shell-game budgeting that we have seen from the Democrat majority is not just putting the state in a bad spot this year but setting us up to be billions in the hole for years to come — racking up debt, taking money out of classrooms, and sticking future generations with the bill. This budget is a recipe for financial hardship, not a plan for prosperity.”
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