State budget includes forward momentum, but gaps still need to be filled

A version of this column originally appeared in Michigan Advance.

While Michigan lawmakers had been in what felt like a never-ending stalemate on their budget negotiations for a large part of this year, the recent passage of the 2026 state budget agreement demonstrates that bipartisanship is still possible in today’s polarizing political climate. With that being said, we wish the agreement had been reached back in June and that it was a budget that truly put the people of Michigan first. 

The budget, as a whole, takes some significant positive steps toward meeting the needs of Michigan children, families and seniors. However, we recognize more work needs to get done. And Michiganders will still feel undue harm caused by federal cuts to essential programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

Reacting to the harmful federal megabill, the budget included the important step of updating state laws to protect Michigan’s ability to fund its share of Medicaid by keeping the state’s provider tax structure in place. Without this, Michigan would have had to either dig into state coffers at the expense of other priorities to maintain existing services, or it would have lost billions of dollars in Medicaid funding, restricting Michiganders’ access to health care, eliminating coverage for important services like doulas or community health workers, and disrupting our state health care system for everyone. This was necessary and we are thrilled the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took steps to protect it.

Stronger and more equitable school funding, including an increase in per-pupil spending and increased funding focused on the students who need it most, additional funding for student mental health services, and the continuation of universal free school meals are all vital to ensuring kids have what they need to learn. We were pleased to see these things make it into the final budget agreement. An investment in technology to protect Bridge card users from benefit theft was also included as well as a significant down payment in the expansion of the successful and evidence-based Rx Kids program, which will help more Michigan babies and parents get a stronger start toward health and economic security. 

While it’s positive that the Legislature looked at state revenue streams and recognized that the status quo just wasn’t good enough, we are concerned that roads were prioritized at the expense of more meaningful investments in the people of Michigan at a time when they need it most. Despite the budget agreement including some things that center Michiganders’ needs, more must be done to truly shield them from the harm caused by the federal megabill. The most vulnerable of Michiganders will be hit the hardest by the megabill at a time when they are already struggling to make ends meet. We know from our latest Kids Count in Michigan data released a couple of weeks ago that more than 17% of our state’s children are living in poverty, and over 40% of Michigan households are either in poverty or can’t afford the basic cost of living. 

And while early childhood is the age group that has the biggest return on investment, Michigan lawmakers largely left them out this year. We were deeply concerned that, overall, the budget lacked a holistic approach to funding the early childhood service sector and a comprehensive strategy to address the early childhood workforce shortage. Additionally, funding for other services, such as Early On and early literacy programs, was at best held flat or decreased at a time of growing need. What’s worse is that funding for our Great Start Collaboratives, which serve as an important resource to families through connections to services, home visiting programs and parent education, was completely eliminated, breaking a nearly two-decade-long commitment to these support systems that serve thousands of kids each year. As child care and early education programs remain out of reach for many Michigan families due to both the high cost and lack of availability, we need further investment, not stagnating funding.  

Budgets are not just spreadsheets, they are moral documents, and the people of Michigan — kids, families and workers — should always be central to them. The agreement that was finally reached doesn’t completely miss the mark in that regard, but we had hoped to see more people-centered investments to mitigate more of the harm caused by federal funding cuts to programs Michigan families and our local communities rely upon to stay healthy and thriving. In the face of increases in child care costs, rising housing costs and unknown future health care costs, our state lawmakers need to continue to champion policies that will protect Michiganders from what we know are going to be some extremely challenging times ahead. 

Click here for the League’s analysis on the 2026 state budget agreement.