LANSING — State Representative Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) expressed her disappointment at the general budget bill for fiscal year 2014, which passed the House today. Although House Bill 4328 contains several positive features, it continues to underfund areas such as revenue sharing and transportation, and does not accept federal funding to expand Medicaid.
“As a former mayor, I know how cities and towns across Michigan have been decimated by cuts to revenue sharing,” Driskell said. “The small increases this budget provides are merely stopgaps and fall well short of what is necessary for communities in our state to thrive. Investment in communities and schools are why people chose to live and work in western Washtenaw County.”
HB 4328 also strips funding from the Department of Education for implementing the Common Core standards. Common Core is a set of goals used in 45 other states that Michigan has been working on implementing for the last three years. These standards will help children compete with their peers in other states and at a global level. Common Core has the support of many groups in the business community statewide.
“While this budget did have some good things in it, including funding for Healthy Kids Dental that I fought for earlier in the year, it just wasn’t good enough for my constituents,” Driskell said.