LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Rick Outman issued the following statement after the Senate passed the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget plan:
“I was available to negotiate, but many of my colleagues and I were left in the dark throughout the entire budget process as this one-sided spending plan came together shortly before it was presented to us for a vote. We were given nothing but speculation up until passage just after 4:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
“I do my best to try and dig deep into issues so I can weigh the good versus the bad prior to choosing how I will vote — something I think is especially prudent when it comes to budgeting and this type of large-scale spending — but we were not afforded that opportunity.
“Despite the massive price tag made possible by a $700 million tax increase and taking $670 million from the teacher retirement fund, this plan fails to include an increase in K-12 per-pupil funding for the first time in years, cuts student safety and mental health funding, does not adequately invest in our roads or infrastructure, and only further burdens taxpayers down the road with over 450 new government positions that future lawmakers will have to account for.
“The people of my district sent me to Lansing to be their voice in government, not to blindly spend their money. We have a duty to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, so ultimately, I voted no on this budget.”
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