House GOP budget slashes Michigan’s water, health care spending: Whitmer calls for ‘serious and fast negotiations’

Michigan House Republicans passed a bill Tuesday as part of a budget proposal that cuts $5 billion from the $83.5 billion plan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer submitted in February and dramatically reduces funding for state drinking water and health care programs.

State Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) told Planet Detroit the environmental piece of the budget is a slash and burn effort to pay for road funding.

“It was mainly cutting employees that protect our water to make room for other priorities that have nothing to do with the environment,” he said.

The likelihood of a government shutdown is high, Irwin said, adding that the budget is a nonstarter for him. The state’s new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, at which point state government would shut down without a budget in place.

The House budget cuts $200 million, or roughly 19% of the funding, for Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, eliminating $4.9 million from the Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division and $17.4 million from water quality programs, according to the House Fiscal Agency analysis. It also seeks to weaken Michigan PFAS rules and slashes $92.5 million in funding for public health programs. 

The budget passed in a 59-45 vote, with only Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) voting with Republicans.

The budget met with widespread condemnation from Democratic lawmakers and advocates, who say more environmental and health protections are needed in Michigan to mitigate the impact of federal rollbacks.

Republican leaders describe their efforts as targeted cuts that would allow the state to fund road repairs without raising taxes.

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) framed the budget as eliminating “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse,” echoing language used by President Donald Trump’s administration.  

Hall’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

House budget targets water funding, PFAS action

A weakening of PFAS standards and drinking water protections may prove unpopular in Michigan, where there’s bipartisan support for protecting water resources.

In a 2021 Michigan State University poll, 71% of self-identified Republicans and Independents expressed support or strong support for protecting streams and wetlands, while the number for Democrats was 86%.

“Water is Michigan,” said Tim Minotas, legislative and political director at the Michigan Sierra Club. “The lack of prioritization from the House Republicans on an issue that is near and dear to Michigan residents is certainly a head scratcher.”

The House budget would eliminate roughly 250 full-time EGLE employees, 116 of whom work on water quality programs in the water resources division, according to the Michigan House Fiscal Agency analysis.

Republicans are simultaneously cutting funding for state water programs and setting aside money for water projects in their districts, Minotas said. Among the areas where the House Budget increases environmental spending is $20 million for dam and flood mitigation grants.

The budget includes language barring EGLE’s Water Resources Division from spending funds until the department adopts weaker federal drinking water standards for toxic PFAS chemicals.

The plan also looks to limit Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s ability to join other states in lawsuits or sue the federal government or oil and gas companies.

Nessel has previously sued the Trump administration over its energy emergency order, which would fast-track fossil fuel projects, and sued 3M, Dupont and other companies for PFAS pollution damages. 

GOP budget would add to difficulties for hospitals, Medicaid enrollees

Lawmakers and health and environmental workers have raised alarms about the House budget’s cuts to health programs, which would follow federal reductions to Medicaid that the Citizens Research Council of Michigan estimates could cost the state $2 billion to $4 billion.

 “The more you look at it, the more horrible you realize it is,” Irwin said of the budget. He called attention to the elimination of wage increases for direct care workers that he argues could lead to more older adults moving into nursing homes, increasing the overall cost of care.

In a statement, State Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) said, “Proposed cuts to the (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) budget would have catastrophic consequences for the health and well-being of over 3 million Michiganders.”

These changes could devastate Michigan hospitals, Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, told the Detroit Free Press.

“The proposed state budget from the Michigan House of Representatives guts hospital funding and would be disastrous if even a semblance of the cuts eventually makes it into the state budget,” he said.

Peters said Michigan hospitals are already on track to lose $6 billion over the next 10 years because of federal budget cuts.

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Michigan Republicans, Democrats far apart as shutdown looms

It’s too early to tell what the GOP plan means for negotiations needed to pass a budget and prevent a shutdown, Minotas said.

“The only positive thing out of this is that we finally have seen what their priorities are,” he said, adding that the budget passed by the House is unserious and likely unworkable for Democrats.

When reached for comment, Whitmer’s office shared a statement from an event on Wednesday.

“It’s not a budget that is going to get signed into law. Now it is time for us to have serious and fast negotiations, to have a budget that really reflects the needs of the people of the state,” Whitmer said.

It’s unclear what the immediate environmental and public health effects of a government shutdown would be if lawmakers fail to reach a deal by the end of the month.

Michigan experienced brief shutdowns in 2007 and 2009 that lasted a few hours before temporary spending plans were adopted, Michigan Advance reported.

Irwin expressed concern that a shutdown could impact drinking water systems.

“If your drinking water system is up for renewal and there’s no one there to do it … it creates questions about whether they can continue to operate without that approval,” he said.

A shutdown could also interrupt state revolving fund programs that provide communities with low-interest loans for water and sewer projects, creating lengthy delays for infrastructure investments, Irwin said.

Minotas said lawmakers need to focus on how they can continue to provide services for Michiganders in light of federal cutbacks.

“You would think putting a people focused budget (forward) and putting people first would be the overall theme of what our state budget is.”