by Sen. Cameron S. Brown
16th Senate District
In recent weeks, the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives each adopted budgets for state building projects – known as Capital Outlay budgets – with significantly differing priorities.
The Senate version is a modest budget that approves the pass-through of funds the federal government appropriated for Michigan airports. Because these are federal grants, they will have no negative impact on Michigan’s strained state budget. Without approval by the Legislature and governor, however, the funds cannot flow to local airports for desperately needed capital improvement projects. Area airports anxiously awaiting approval of these federal grants include Adrian, Battle Creek, Coldwater, Grand Rapids, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Sturgis and Three Rivers.
Meanwhile, House Democrats have adopted a Capital Outlay budget that includes the federal airport funds plus more than $810 million in new spending from state sources. The House majority has proposed new building projects at nearly every public university and community college in the state, which would cost taxpayers approximately $85 million a year for the next 15 years.
Some of these 41 projects may very well be appropriate and necessary, but few have received even a cursory review by the Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee. The lack of oversight of taxpayer dollars evokes memories of the subcommittee’s rubber stamping of the new $92 million Michigan State Police headquarters, which will replace the current facility leased for one dollar a year.
And while these building projects would certainly make for good headlines in college towns for the local state representatives seeking re-election in November, the House Democratic leadership seems unconcerned about the impact of such a spending spree on our state budget. Just this week, it was revealed that state revenues will be $720 million less than previously expected. This news, however, does not appear to have slowed the House majority’s desire to increase spending. They continue to advocate for the $810 million in new building projects that have been the subject of little or no oversight. In doing so, they have refused to approve the pass-through of the federal dollars for our local airports. As the days go by, it becomes more likely that the federal monies will be re-allocated to other states.
It was my hope that lawmakers from both parties would have learned a difficult but valuable lesson from the embarrassing budget stalemate last year. Apparently, those who continue to withhold these desperately needed funds did not. It appears our local airports – all key players in regional economies – will suffer as a result.
Source: Op-Ed article from office of state Senator Cameron Brown
