LANSING – Michigan Republicans approved almost a dozen minor tweaks to their Fiscal Year 2019 General Fund and School Aid Fund (starting Oct. 1) spending plans before passing a plan that has more than $160 million left on the balance sheet.

Even with the changes, the budget remains a “fiscally conservative document” that leaves roughly $150 million unallocated, according to House Appropriations Chair Laura Cox (R-Livonia).

The Michigan House is recommending a $9.8 billion General Fund in HB 5578, scaled back from the $10.26 billion General Fund the state is operating on in FY ’18. The $16.8 billion School Aid Fund in HB 5579 for FY 2019 is .5 percent larger than what the Governor proposed. More than a quarter of every dollar state government will spend in FY ’19 goes to schools under this House plan. The overall $55.72 billion budget recommendation is .3 percent lower than the $55.96 million the state of Michigan is spending this year.

Among the tweaks approved on the House floor were a $2.5 million increase for Pure Michigan, $2.5 million more for County Veterans Services; and $2 million more for the Entrepreneurship Eco-System business attraction program.

This story was published by the Small Business Association of Michigan.