The Michigan House approved a more than $152 million spending bill Monday to work on runways at Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard” base.
The base is expecting federally-funded construction to support a new fighter mission that President Donald Trump announced last year.
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) said he fears that mission won’t actually happen if the work isn’t done before Trump leaves office.
“One of the biggest delays was the runway construction, and if we’re going to wait on the federal government to fund the runway, then we’re not going to get this thing done in time,” Hall told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.
The bill passed by a 65-41 vote, with a group of Democrats joining most of the Republican House majority in supporting the measure.
Still, Democrats questioned the sudden urgency behind the vote. Hall first announced the bill a few hours before the House’s vote, originally telling reporters the chamber would take it up this week without laying out a full timeline.
State Representative Denise Mentzer (D-Mt. Clemens) voted for the spending plan. But she said the state and federal government have already put millions toward the project.
“They’re still in the planning stages. They don’t have shovels in the ground, so this is actually a little bit premature,” Mentzer told reporters after the vote.
The bill now goes to the Democratic-controlled Michigan Senate, where the appropriations chair said the bill was news to her on Tuesday. She didn’t rule out taking up Selfridge funding but she said she’d rather see lawmakers focus on addressing a projected budget shortfall.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s team Tuesday did not answer whether she knew the budget push for the runway was coming either. In a statement, Whitmer spokesperson Stacey LaRouche said the governor has been focused on winning the new fighter mission for the base.
“The governor will continue to work with the legislature and federal officials to secure funding to make improvements to Selfridge for the new fighter and tanker missions, secure military and civilian jobs, and cement Michigan’s status as a hub for defense and aerospace well into the future,” LaRouche said in a written statement.
Also on the budget front Tuesday, Hall said he wasn’t interested in re-instating funding that the House Appropriations Committee unilaterally blocked in December. That money was from the last state budget and would have otherwise been carried forward to the current fiscal year for efforts like helping immigrants starting out in Michigan, supporting legal representation for people who can't afford a lawyer, and advancing a few local projects.
A lawsuit between the House and the governor's administration is in court, though a possible deal is in the works.
Hall said he only wants what he sees as worthwhile spending to continue.
“Hopefully we’ll get a good resolution, and if we don’t, we’ll go back to court. Where I think we’ll win very easily,” Hall said.
Democrats, however, are demanding the full funding be returned. That includes State Senator Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“These are things that were a part of assigned budget agreement the governor put her name and signed a budget that included those investments. And so, we're not going to continue to renegotiate the same types of conversations. Ultimately, we need to start getting in rooms with serious actors,” Anthony said.
On Tuesday, Hall also tried to build support for a sprawling policy agenda he announced last week.
Hall said his plan involves cutting certain property taxes while starting to charge sales tax on a hodgepodge of services like political ads, lobbying, and luxury travel.
There are also plans to use the money utility companies save from those property tax cuts to lower power bills, though Hall hasn't been specific about how. He said the proposal would save money for the average Michigander.
“These people and their limousines, and their country club memberships, and the private jets. Those are all going to be taxed. We’re going to tax the marinas, we’re going to tax a lot of these things that are very unpopular. But we’re going to lower your property taxes,” Hall said.
Many in Lansing are skeptical of the plan, especially in the absence of more details about how it would work.