Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her final State of the State address on Wednesday, outlining a massive plan that she said will improve literacy, along with increasing available housing and lowering health care costs across Michigan.
The Governor said her proposed $88.1 billion budget includes $625 million to help students read better. The plan would pay for special tutors, new training for teachers, and more preschool classes. Whitmer said she also wants to make housing more affordable by offering tax credits and helping people with down payments on their first homes.
To help with health care, Whitmer proposed new rules to protect people from medical debt. She said she wants to stop debt from hurting credit scores and prevent families from losing their homes over unpaid medical bills.
However, Republican leaders were quick to criticize the plan. 16th District State Senator Joseph Bellino\ argued that Michigan is falling behind Ohio and Indiana. He blamed the state’s problems on high taxes and too much government spending.
In a statement released immediately following the Governor’s address, Bellino said, “The state of our state sucks.”
He argued that the governor’s solution is always to spend more money rather than cut “red tape.”
Bellino said the state should focus on giving families more freedom and making schools more accountable instead of just increasing their budgets.
Both sides will need to work together on some level to finalize the state budget before October 1st