Capitol News

State Senator Thomas Albert, a Republican from Lowell, commented on the Michigan Legislature’s recent approval of the 2025-26 state budget. He acknowledged that passing the budget avoids a government shutdown and brings certainty to residents. “The silver lining of this state budget approval is it ends any possibility of a state government shutdown and provides some long-overdue certainty for Michiganders. That is a relief, but overall, I could not support this specific budget plan. Despite steps in the right direction, it is structurally unsustainable,” said Albert.

Albert criticized previous fiscal decisions by Democrats, saying, “This self-inflicted government spending problem was worsened a few years ago when Michigan Democrats squandered a $9 billion budget surplus. They expanded and created state government programs that they now can’t afford to maintain without tax increases or shifts.”

He raised concerns about new taxes in the current budget: “The increased spending on roads contained in this budget is needed, but it relies too much on new taxes and missed opportunities to benefit from recent federal tax changes. This may make Michigan a less competitive place to create or maintain jobs. I doubt the new wholesale tax on marijuana will bring in as much revenue as planned. I also have heard concerns that rural communities may be shortchanged in the road funding distribution formula, and a reduction in constitutional revenue sharing will hurt communities that rely on it for police, fire and other services.”

Despite these criticisms, Albert noted some positive aspects: “While I do support some significant positive steps in this budget — such as reduced overall spending, important measures to rein in corporate welfare, and more transparency in legislative earmarks — it is built in a way that is unsustainable moving forward.”

He also expressed reservations about education funding priorities: “I support investing in our K-12 schools, but once again, this budget does not do enough to ensure that increased spending translates into real results for our kids. We already invest more per student than most states with below-average results. We should tie spending increases to policy changes that will truly improve student achievement. And I disagree with the shift that allows more K-12 School Aid Fund money to flow to universities.”

Reflecting on divided control of Michigan’s legislature and executive branch during the budgeting process, Albert concluded: “I realize no one is going to be totally satisfied with a budget adopted during an era of divided government, with Republicans leading the House. Democrats running the Senate and the governor’s office — but I do believe even in this context we can do better than this for Michiganders.”