Note: The following column was published by the Lapeer County Press on Saturday, April 25:

We are moving closer to a state budget plan for next year in the Legislature.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, it is important to closely evaluate spending plans and decisions so that we respect taxpayers, sufficiently fund essential services, and provide the best value possible for people and their families. I also serve as chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Health and vice chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Medicaid and Behavioral Health. These two legislative panels are important in setting budgets that help ensure positive health and safety outcomes and that people have access to resources they need.

These two House subcommittees recently submitted their passed budgets as the overall plan continues to take shape. I want to thank legislators on both committees for the close and meticulous work that went into these proposals and I wanted to share some highlights.

The Dept. of Health and Human Services budget includes programs and services that assist Michigan’s most vulnerable. One area we focused on is protecting mothers and children. Our plan increases funding for Child Advocacy Center grants by $1 million. These vital facilities coordinate response when there are allegations of physical and sexual child abuse. Through work with local law enforcement, child protective services and medical professionals, they provide forensic interviews, medical evaluations, mental health services and victim advocacy to children under 18. My stated goal is to eradicate child abuse in Michigan. Until we accomplish that, we need additional resources to hold perpetrators accountable and put them behind bars.

The plan includes $1.6 million for the Maternal/Infant Home Visiting Program, which provides expectant mothers and parents of young children with resources to improve their wellbeing and ensure new families in Michigan are safe and healthy. It also increases advocacy within the Healthy Michigan Fund to educate pregnant mothers on the adverse effects of marijuana during pregnancy. It is my goal to help moms-to-be get the prenatal care they need so they can have healthy pregnancies and babies.

The Healthy Michigan funding also covers smoking cessation programming. Having a family member develop lung cancer, this has been a priority of mine in the Legislature. I have led in ensuring that funds from the Tobacco Settlement are not being redirected to fill other holes in the budget and that they are actually going to address the health effects of smoking, such as cancer, peripheral arterial disease, and others. Specific language in our subcommittee budget plan will ensure funding is going to smoking education and prevention.

I’m also excited about what the budget plan we passed will bring for seniors across Lapeer, Genesee and Tuscola counties, as well as throughout the state. It includes $2 million to increase support for senior nutrition services like Meals on Wheels and other home-delivered meal providers, community dining, and other specialized needs.

We passed responsible budgets that emphasize prevention and accountability. On the prevention side, we provided resources to proactively address child abuse so cases don’t get passed between multiple departments. We prioritized substance abuse prevention to keep it from starting at the prenatal phase, and we looked at what we could do to curb the impacts of marijuana and lead exposure. Increased reporting requirements for departments will provide transparency to taxpayers and efficiency for people who utilize these state services. These plans are a great first step, and I am eager to continue discussions in the weeks ahead so we can include these features in a final budget.