Guest Article: Senator Outman Weighs in on Budget

State Sen. Rick Outman

Outman: Overspending derailed what could have been a good budget
 
Sen. Rick Outman issued the following statement after the Senate passed its budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year:
 
“I tried to support this budget plan, and there are many good things included, but the spending is simply too much. I don’t think what was put before us for a vote provided Michigan taxpayers with a good value for the money that was being spent. A lot of people still need help — more than they need new commissions or more bureaucracy. I think we could have done more to address what the people of this state have clearly stated their priorities are.
 
“Ultimately, I had to vote no because this budget fails to address many of the issues facing this state while continuing much of the wasteful spending we saw during last year’s budget. In order to balance the budget, the administration and majority opted to raid the teacher pension fund and forced an income tax hike on residents.
 
“COVID money is drying up, and these budgets keep creating new programs and bureaucracies that we will have difficulty funding down the road. The money simply isn’t there to maintain this level of overspending, and I can’t support going back down this road that we’ve seen the end result of before. The bad just outweighed the good, and that’s not how to create a balanced budget.”

We contacted the Senator to ask for more specifics and he responded thusly:

• SOAR funding: Last year, the Democratic majority, with guidance from the governor, gave away billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars to massive, multinational companies to subsidize electric vehicle development and battery projects. SOAR funding was maintained in this budget, and Republican amendments to instead use this money for much-needed bridge repairs, an income tax reduction and child care and homestead tax credits to help alleviate the tax burden on residents. Amendments were all voted down by the majority. 

 

• Rent and legal assistance for illegal aliens: Michigan residents should be a priority. We shouldn’t be paying the bills and legal fees of people who willingly broke the law and disregarded our system of government to get here. 

 

• $5 million road usage study: This pilot program is being funded to discern whether or not taxes charged on miles traveled would be sufficient as an alternative road funding mechanism. I don’t support tracking individuals and where they drive, then sending them a bill for it. This pilot program is testing a funding method that relies on significant government intrusion into people’s lives.  

 

• Electric vehicle charging infrastructure: Budget included $15 million. Republicans offered an amendment that would have repurposed this money for water infrastructure, which is a higher priority. An amendment also attempted to eliminate $10 million in “clean fleet” electric vehicle funding and rededicate that money to lead line replacement. That amendment failed on party lines.

 

• Funding for driver’s licenses for illegal aliens: Amendment attempting to eliminate the use of this funding was voted down. 

Funding for the Office of Global Michigan: Amendment to ensure none of this funding went to individuals who are here illegally was voted down. We have an obligation to spend taxpayer money wisely on efforts to make Michigan a better state. Our duty is to tax-paying residents, not people who are here illegally. 

• $20 million park at the Capitol: The state Capitol recently completed multimillion dollars’ worth of renovations to heating systems and other improvements, along with the expansion of Heritage Hall — we don’t need to spend another $20 million for a park outside. 

 

• State government vehicle fleets transitioning to electric vehicles: Many of these vehicles don’t need to be replaced. With the rising cost of energy, coupled with the vulnerability of the grid and the increased electricity consumption, electric vehicles are not going to live up to the value that was promised. We saw the failure of electric school buses that we paid for in the last budget and we’re going right back down the same path and putting taxpayers on the hook for it.

Not only is the issue how much was spent, but also where it was spent. The budget has grown more than my liking in recent years, and we have little to show for it aside from the completion of partisan projects. I think a number of high priorities were left out of recent budgets to make way for these partisan goals. Funding for veterans homes, roads, bridges, water infrastructure, and cancer screenings for veterans, among numerous other amendments, were voted down to make room for the Democrats’ overspending.

What is most troublesome is this budget couldn’t exist without a $700 million income tax hike that the current majority fought tooth and nail for, and without the $670 million raid on the teacher pension fund.

We built up our savings for years to be able to afford some lower-priority projects because we budgeted responsibly. Last year, the majority spent nearly every penny of our $9 billion surplus on things like pools, pickleball courts, EV projects, massively growing state government and state worker payroll, and corporate subsidies for electric vehicle projects, among other things, while leaving roads and other priorities underfunded. Because the $9 billion in savings was largely wiped out, to maintain this level of overspending, the governor and Democratic leadership fought to ensure an income tax increase took place and took money from the already-underfunded teacher pension system. 

I just couldn’t support such negligent spending or the lack of willingness to even consider some of these commonsense amendments. We have very little to show for last year’s overspending, and I presume this time next year will be the same.  

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