LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, issued the following statement on Wednesday after voting against a pair of budget bills outlining $81.7 billion in spending for the state’s 2024 fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1:
“These bloated budget bills are the serving platters of the biggest boondoggle pork feast I’ve ever seen cooked up in the halls of Michigan’s Capitol; and to say it leaves a bad and bitter taste in one’s mouth is an understatement. It is utterly bewildering that the first budget passed by the new Democratic majority — which shouted for decades while in the minority about a real need for more legislative transparency — is perhaps the most secretive budget in state history and I cannot support it.
“In just six months, Democrats have successfully plundered the pockets of Michigan taxpayers, burning through the state’s $9 billion budget surplus on an unsuitable spending spree of pet projects, favored corporate handouts and big government. They have done this behind closed doors, in the dark, unashamed, and unaccountable. While Santa Whitmer and her legislative elves empty the vaults and max out the credit cards to party like it’s Christmas in June, the ghost of Christmas future is waiting nearby to collect on the tab. And who will be left to pay? The Michigan taxpayers who cannot afford it, that’s who.
“I cannot and will not support such wasteful and irresponsible spending. Instead, I will continue to push forward on my legislation to require more transparency, oversight and accountability in the governmental process in the hope that future Michigan lawmakers might think twice before squandering other people’s money.”