Michigan House Passes $75.8B Budget on Party-Line Vote; Nearly Every State Department, Public Universities Cut

Michigan House Passes $75.8B Budget on Party-Line Vote; Nearly Every State Department, Public Universities Cut

E-Newsletter | Rep. Kara Hope | April 29, 2026

Dear Neighbor,

Here is some information that I hope you will find helpful, including news and resources from your state government.

On Wednesday, April 22, House Republicans passed an omnibus budget (House Bill 5619) and a school aid budget (House Bill 5630). These budgets make cuts to most state departments and eliminate critical programs and funding that Michiganders rely on. This includes: 

• Elimination of community violence intervention programs, and a $2.5 million cut to gun violence prevention funding. 
• $19.5 million cut to the office of Child Development and Care, which supports low-income working families by providing access to affordable, high-quality early care and afterschool programs.
• Cuts to universities and colleges, including a 63% cut for Michigan State University, a 27% overall cut to public universities, and a 2.9% cut to community colleges. 
• Elimination of Rx Kids, a cash aid program for moms and babies in Michigan. 
• Reduced support for veterans by 11.6% ($33 million a year). 
• 50% cut to the department of Energy, Great Lakes, and the Environment. 
• $6 million cut to clean energy programs. 
• $19 million cut to business attraction and community revitalization. 

Additionally, this budget does not provide adequate funding to offset the increased caseload caused by federal changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act.  Without proper funding, hundreds of thousands of Michiganders will lose health, food, and unemployment coverage.

The House Republican school aid budget cuts the High School Dropout Recovery program by $500 thousand and eliminates the nationally proven weighted funding targets for at-risk and English language learner students. Language was also included that would create a 20% penalty for districts that use a curriculum related to race or gender or use state funding for “DEI initiatives.”

I voted no on both of these budget bills.

As Michigan tries to cope with huge federal cuts to food assistance and Medicaid, we cannot make up for all of the lost funding and anticipated costs, but we must do our best to serve Michiganders. My Democratic colleagues offered over 70 amendments to the budget to ensure critical funding was not eliminated. All of these amendments were rejected by House Republicans.

These bills are now before the state Senate for further consideration.

Legislation (HBs 4657 – 4660) I sponsored to help public employees ensure their disabled children are adequately cared for into the future recently passed the House Judiciary Committee. In Michigan, public employee pension systems allow retirees to take a reduction in their pension during the retiree’s lifetime and then designate a child as a survivor beneficiary. However, directly receiving pension benefits can pose challenges for both the retiree and the beneficiary when the beneficiary has a disability.

The drawbacks can include jeopardizing the dependent’s eligibility for essential public benefits (such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income); the potential need for cumbersome probate proceedings; and the creation of inconsistencies with other retirement plans that allow for special needs trusts as beneficiaries. These issues would be eliminated by this legislation, which allows retired public servants to designate special needs trusts as pension beneficiaries, ensuring that dependents remain supported without the complications.

I recently met with representatives from the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing; they were at the Capitol for the statewide Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year event. The Boys & Girls Club has been operating in the Lansing area for 62 years. Since their current facility opened in 1990, they have served over 50,000 youth. I especially enjoyed talking with three students who are program participants and hearing how this organization has positively impacted their lives. One of these students, Perion, received the 2026 Lansing Youth of the Year award.

During this Child Abuse Prevention Month, I met with the Executive Director of Small Talk Children’s Advocacy Center. This Lansing-based organization offers coordinated services for children in Mid-Michigan during child sexual abuse investigations. This includes free therapy for kids and their families; forensic interviewing to prevent child victims from having to sit for multiple interviews with multiple interviewers; prevention education for adults; and advocacy resources. Services are child-focused and trauma-informed. I strongly support their work, and I sponsored $1.4 million in additional funds for Small Talk in the 2026-27 fiscal year budget.

Follow my official Facebook account for the most up-to-date information. E-news contains a lot of good information, but it takes several days – up to a week – to get it approved and sent.

Sincerely,

Kara Hope
State Representative
House District 74

You can receive help getting identification, food, shelter, mental health care, and rehabilitation services every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the South Lansing Library, 3500 S. Cedar Street, in Lansing . This service is available through a partnership between the Capital Area District Library and Advent House to offer drop-in basic needs assistance. A member of Advent House’s Street Outreach team will be available to assist. More information is available here.