GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - The Latest on Gov. Rick Snyder’s signing of the Michigan budget (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Gov. Rick Snyer has vetoed nearly $6.4 million in proposed spending in the next Michigan budget.
Nineteen individual spending items were vetoed Friday as the Republican governor signed a $56.5 billion plan.
Vetoes cover education-related spending such as an online math program. Other spending would have gone toward an equestrian center, draft beer-related training, renovations at two state parks and other budget areas.
Snyder says the spending would have been duplicative, would have interfered with existing programs or had an unclear purpose. He says he welcomes reconsidering them in the future if “their importance to the state of Michigan can be demonstrated.”
He also says a GOP-written provision penalizing K-12 districts for certain union contract provisions is unenforceable.
___
11:10 a.m.
Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a $56.5 billion budget, capping months of work with lawmakers on the state’s next spending plan.
The Republican governor signed the bills Friday in Grand Rapids, at a career tech center run by the Kent Intermediate School District. He says the budget includes record spending on K-12 schools, including a big boost for at-risk students and to buy equipment for career and technical education programs.
Snyder says the budget “will make a difference” in people’s lives.
The plan includes a $35 million deposit into a state infrastructure fund, more spending on roads and bridges, and extra debt payments as part of an agreement to steer more newly hired school employees into a 401(k)-only retirement plan.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.