Press Release
LANSING, Mich., Oct. 9, 2025 — Last week, the Michigan Legislature passed the final FY 2025-26 General and School Aid budgets, totaling about $81 billion to fund state and school operations. After refusing to back down in budget negotiations to defend critical Medicaid, food assistance, and education funding, state Rep. Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy) voted for a bipartisan budget that mostly reflects Michigan’s priorities. The state budget provides relief to Michiganders harmed by Republican cuts in the federal so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, protects access to affordable health care and SNAP benefits and funds universal school meals, transportation, mental health resources that kids depend on, and commits around $1.8 billion to repair roads and bridges across Michigan.
After the vote, MacDonell issued the following statement:
“Let’s be clear: this budget process was a mess because of the failed leadership of House Republicans, and it should never have gone down to the wire. Families, schools, and local governments were left in limbo as Republicans in Washington gutted more than $7.6 billion from Michigan’s health and human services budget, while their allies here at home wasted months playing games instead of negotiating in good faith.
“In the end, Democrats fought tooth and nail to protect the basics. We safeguarded Medicaid and maternal health care, expanded the Rx Kids program so more moms and babies can get a strong start, and secured resources to process sexual assault kits so survivors can find justice. We also defended universal school meals, ensuring that no child goes hungry, and delivered historic investments in higher education through increased funding for the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
“On top of that, we achieved record per-pupil funding of $10,050, with added support for special education, $321 million for school mental health and safety, stronger disability services, expanded Great Start Readiness pre-K, and a 25% increase for at-risk students. Every child, especially those with unique needs and challenges, deserves the same stability and opportunity as everyone else
“Additionally, we also fought to include $1.8 billion in sustainable road funding — putting over $1 billion more into transportation, with dollars for counties, cities and villages to fix local roads. On top of that, we delivered the biggest transit investment in Michigan history, expanding access to buses, rail and safer infrastructure in every community.
“All that said, I have one major disappointment: this budget defunded the Autism Navigator program, which I will work to restore in the supplemental budget. Still, I voted yes because this budget provides stability for families at a time of great uncertainty. Make no mistake: I am not done fighting for Michigan. Families need more than survival; they need a budget that expands opportunity and strengthens the systems that make life fairer and healthier. I will keep fighting for policies and investments that put kids, working families and vulnerable Michiganders first.”