by Paul J. Sniadecki, MLSA Board Director
On April 5, 2019, President Mike Gallagher, and Director Paul J Sniadecki, traveled to Lansing to meet with Governor Whitmer and her staff to learn about the 2020 proposed operating budget. We were joined by several other non-profit group representatives. The Governor presented info on a “macro scale”, while all attendees were there looking for “micro-level” type specifics in the proposed budget. The Governor was direct in speaking about the necessity of implementing her 2020 budget, which would free up General Fund dollars in later years to support funding of the programs needed by attendees at the meeting.
The Governor’s proposed 2020 budget (called the “ROAD TO OPPORTUNITY”) is designed to: Start Fixing the Roads, Providing Better Funding for Education, and Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in 2020. While MLSA has not taken a position relative to the merits of the proposed 2020 budget, we do encourage all “riparian minded” voters to fully review the Governor’s Proposed 2020 budget and its impact on the future. Then, contact your elected officials with your views so they vote to represent your concerns.
While in the Govermor’s meeting, MLSA was able to get our “funding request” position paper into the hands of the Deputy State Budget Director. Since “timing” is an issue for all spending appropriations in Michigan, it appears our funding request position paper might not receive full consideration until the 2021 budget process. However, MLSA remains hopeful that some consideration will be achieved in the Legislative Sub-Committee process for 2020.
(NOTE: The MLSA funding request was for permanent resourses for the CLMP Program, $1,000,000 for the new AIS Eradication and Control Fund, and Support for the WaterWays Commission proposal to require all watercraft to purcahse and display AIS Fund Stickers, as other progressive states already require).