Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a $1.2 billion supplemental funding bill that spends federal money to fund education, health care and long-term care facilities.
“This bill is a testament to what’s possible when Republicans and Democrats work together to put Michiganders first,” Whitmer said in a statement.
“The funding will ensure that our kids can continue safely learning in person by expanding testing and screening in schools and make healthcare more accessible to regular Michiganders by allocating funds to recruit and retain critical healthcare workers. I look forward to continuing in this spirit of collaboration on the fiscal year 2023 budget, which will create good-paying jobs and put money in Michiganders’ pockets.”
House Bill 5523 includes $367 million to expand epidemiology and lab capacity; $300 million to recruit and retain health care; and $150 million for school safety grants.
Other spending includes:
- $100 million to COVID testing and treatment centers.
- $70 million to adult homes for the aged.
- $54 million for vaccine grants.
- $29 million to nursing home infection control.
- $10 million for a new state public health and environmental science laboratory.
“Our communities benefit from a strong and talented health care workforce, and these past two years have placed incredible burdens and demands on our team members,” Michigan Health & Hospital Association Chair Tina Freese Decker said in a statement.
“The funding included in this supplemental budget bill will help Michigan hospitals and health systems in rebuilding and retaining exceptional health care workers so we can continue to provide safe, high-quality care to all, including supporting innovative educational and training programs. Thank you to our Michigan Legislature and to Governor Whitmer for directing these resources to ensure we have the strong talent needed to care for our communities now and into the future.”
The measure spends from a pot of $7 billion in federal taxpayer dollars, and follows Whitmer pitching a $74.1 billion budget for 2023 – boosting state spending by $4.1 billion over last year.
Democrats and Republicans want to spend billions but in different ways. The GOP-dominated Legislature on Tuesday approved a $2.5 billion tax cut that aims to drop the respective personal and corporate tax rates from 4.25% and 6% to 3.9%. The measure moves to the House.
Meanwhile, Whitmer wants to spend $18 billion on education, $8 billion on infrastructure, and more than $500 million on economic development.
However, both sides of the aisle have shown interest in repealing the retirement tax and possibly raising the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit.
This article was originally posted on Whitmer signs $1.2 billion COVID recovery bill
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