LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Latest on the state budget (all times local):
6:35 p.m.
Key lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration have agreed on the framework of a state budget that would direct $165 million more toward Flint’s lead-tainted water crisis but significantly cut a proposal to address underground infrastructure needs across Michigan.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Hildenbrand told The Associated Press Tuesday the “big-picture stuff is pretty much settled out.” The state budget office confirmed details of the framework.
Negotiators have had to adjust since anticipated tax revenues were lowered last week and Medicaid cost estimates were raised.
Hildenbrand says K-12 schools would still see per-student increases ranging from $60 to $120. State universities’ funding would rise roughly 2.9 percent instead of the 4.4 percent hike sought by Snyder.
There also appears to be consensus to end a tax credit inadvertently awarded to auto insurers and that is costing the state up to $80 million a year.
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10:30 a.m.
Gov. Rick Snyder says he and Republican legislative leaders are close to brokering a budget agreement, with a “fairly short list” of issues left to be resolved.
The Republican governor left a closed-door meeting at the Capitol Tuesday morning and reported “good progress.” Snyder says the budget and talks about restructuring Detroit’s ailing school district are “two separate issues.”
The House and Senate are at odds over how much to spend on Detroit Public Schools and regulating charter schools in the city. Budget issues to hash out include repealing an inadvertent tax credit awarded to auto insurers and spending on underground infrastructure statewide in the wake of Flint’s water crisis.
House Speaker Kevin Cotter says negotiators are “very, very close” to finalizing spending levels for segments of the budget.
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