Lawmakers approve 2021 budget, could vote on petition language

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Michigan legislators have finalized a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The $62.7-billion spending plan will generally stay flat in the fiscal year which starts next month. House Appropriations Committee Chairman and Port Huron State Representative Shane Hernadez says income tax was not down as much as originally projected. “Our income tax did not drop anywhere close to what we expected it to, and neither did our sales tax,” Hernandez told WPHM. The budget was approved in both houses of the legislature Wednesday and now await Governor Whitmer’s approval.

Moving forward, Hernandez says a challenge will be continuing to provide state services if restrictions remain on the economy. That’s why he supports a petition drive to strip Governor Whitmer of some of her emergency executive powers. The Unlock Michigan campaign says they’ve gathered enough signatures to force a vote in the state legislature – where Hernandez says it would have a good chance of passing. “I think Unlock Michigan collected 500-thosuand probably faster than anybody’s ever collected that many signatures in the state, that shows the support for it,” said Hernandez. The signatures are now in the process of being verified by state election officials.