Chamber Reacts to Whitmer 2025-26 State Budget Proposal

On Feb. 5, Jen Flood, the State Budget Director, unveiled Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2025-26 budget for the State of Michigan. This is Whitmer’s seventh budget and one that sees investments in critical priorities for the Detroit Regional Chamber. However, in opposition to the Chamber’s position of utilizing user fees and existing revenue, there are ongoing negotiations that include raising taxes on businesses to pay for an expensive road package.

First, the budget invests in talent development programs that Chamber members have continued to utilize. For example, Going PRO, the program designed to upskill current employees, has a proposed budget of $54.8 million. There is also $50 million budgeted for affordable child care as well as $125 million for expanded career technical education in underserved school districts. Lastly, education is seeing an increase across the board with a 4.1% increase to base per-pupil funding, $50 million investment into the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, and $15 million for the College Success Fund.

These combined programs have a proven track record of bringing students through a “K-12 + 2” system, ready to enter the workforce with the skills that a traditional high school diploma does not provide. Additionally, it builds on the proven success of the Detroit Promise’s college success coaches by implementing degree completion programs across the state.

Second, the proposal attempts to support economic development by investing in small businesses. The budget calls for $10 million for Small Business Entrepreneurial Support Hubs as well as $10 million to partner with employers advancing in the unique talent industries of advanced mobility, semiconductor, aerospace defense, and life sciences. Additionally, the budget adds $39 million to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to streamline the permitting process, a common burden for developers in the state.

Lastly, key investments are made across the Detroit Region that will assist in further development of the economy, including $26 million for Selfridge Air National Guard Base to renovate the base for future flying missions, a priority of the Chamber. There is also $75 million for the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Trust Fund, a proposed package that failed to reach Whitmer during 2024 lame duck but seeks to invest in communities that enact crime-reducing policies and have tangible results.

However, all these programs come at a cost, with a looming funding cliff for road funding fast approaching. Whitmer is expected to announce her road funding plan next week, shortly before her 2025 State of the State address on Feb. 26. Road funding formulas are most equitable when they base their revenue streams on usage and reward higher trafficked areas with increased funding. Any funding formula that increases the corporate income tax runs the risk of decimating Michigan’s economy and forcing businesses to close their doors. The Chamber team will be at the frontline, opposing any plan that places the burden of funding road infrastructure on our members alone.

The Chamber will continue to engage with the legislature and Whitmer on road funding solutions, as well as these budget line items, and urges members to do the same.