The CMF 47th Annual Conference main stage event on October 7 featured Governor Gretchen Whitmer, continuing CMF’s long-standing tradition of welcoming our new Michigan governors to the conference.
The CMF 47th Annual Conference main stage event on October 7 featured Governor Gretchen Whitmer, continuing CMF’s long-standing tradition of welcoming our new Michigan governors to the conference. After helping to recognize William S. White with a special tribute, Governor Whitmer’s keynote address highlighted the importance of giving back and the value of partnership and collaboration, while also joining in our conference-wide conversation around equity in Michigan communities. The Governor focused in particular on the needs of Michigan children.
“We adults need to stay focused on the things that matter to kids’ lives,” she said. “The foundation community knows this better than any. The foundation community continues to lead in this space.”
Following her remarks, the Governor was joined on stage for a panel discussion with two emerging leaders, Jake Hendricks and Angelo Hernandez-Sias, both former Youth Advisory Committee members and now college students. Their dialogue centered on civic engagement, higher education and related issues connected to equity, including college affordability and filling the skills gap.
Governor Whitmer said that the budget she introduced in March included a 3% increase for community colleges and higher education, and a number of line items relevant for graduating high schoolers. “One of the things I had tried to ensure was that we made a priority of higher education - community colleges, as well. We need to change the culture to embrace all paths that lead to a certificate, skill or stacking credentials.”
Citing the need to address infrastructure challenges, however, the Governor said, “Unfortunately at the end of the budget process, it was much smaller than what I had hoped to accomplish.” Later in her remarks, Governor Whitmer said of priorities such as tripling literacy coaching and ensuring the continuation of vocational villages, “When we don’t have an infrastructure solution, all of these other things in the general fund are in jeopardy, and that’s precisely what this budget reflects.”
The Governor remarked that it’s “difficult in this environment to deliver on all these fronts, and it’s unfortunate, because none of these are partisan issues, or should be.”
Her remarks at the Annual Conference came just one week after signing the state budget.
State Budget Update
Governor Whitmer’s 147 line-item vetoes totaled a historic $947 million out of the $59.9 billion budget, according to the Associated Press. The Governor also declared 72 budget provisions constitutionally unenforceable, while the Administrative Board approved 13 transfers within department budgets totaling $625 million.
Bridge Magazine reports that on October 8, Michigan Republican lawmakers introduced more than 20 supplemental spending proposals to reverse line-item budget vetoes and set the stage for potential votes on veto overrides. On October 10, the Governor and Republican leaders reportedly engaged in a private sit-down and have indicated an intention to meet again this week. Also on Thursday, the Governor introduced supplemental spending bills to reappropriate approximately $475 million that she had vetoed from the budget. Included in that supplemental: $110 million for Governor Whitmer’s proposed Michigan Reconnect program, which would provide scholarships for adults to pursue secondary education or skilled trades training.
CMF continues to actively monitor the budget process and analyze budget changes on issues of high importance to Michigan philanthropy, including education, healthcare, safety net programs and child development and care (CDC) provider reimbursement rates, among other issues.
Beyond the budget dollars themselves, we have also been tracking changes in language proposed as part of the budget process. Some examples:
New language that would direct the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) to work with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to notify eligible recipients of food assistance program benefits related to the Double Up Food Bucks program, which provides dollar-to-dollar matches on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars to give recipients better access to healthy, fresh produce.
New language that would have disqualified counties from receiving reimbursement under the County Jail Reimbursement Program if they enact or enforce any law, ordinance, policy or rule that limits or prohibits a peace officer or local official, officer or employee from communicating or cooperating with appropriate federal officials concerning the immigration status of an individual in the state. The Governor vetoed this language.
A new section that would require the Michigan Department of Corrections to allow a female prisoner to have one visitor present during labor and delivery under specific conditions.
New sections that would require the department to submit quarterly reports on all expenditures associated with establishing the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and its role as secretary of the Commission as required by the Constitutional amendment approved under Ballot Proposal 2 (2018) and implementing same-day registration and no-reason absentee voting as required by the Constitutional amendment approved under Ballot Proposal 3 (2018).
Want more?
The Governor’s Office of Foundation Liaison (OFL) is hosting, “Rethinking Michigan’s Safety Net” on November 18 at the Lansing Community College West Campus. The event, being held 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., will feature leading national experts discussing three critical safety net programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Childcare and Develop Fund (CCDF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This one-day convening is designed to level-up participants in their understanding of safety net programs and provide inspiration from examples of effective uses of these programs to support economic mobility. This event is for philanthropy and state government to begin identifying their roles in using Michigan’s safety net to create true economic mobility. Registration is open now on the CMF website.
