The Office of Government Affairs works on behalf of Western Michigan University to strengthen relationships with state, federal, and local policy makers.
Photo by Christopher Tremblay.
WEEKLY UPDATES: Interested in weekly updates on what's happening around the State Capitol? The Bronco Legislative Network has a weekly legislative update with detailed articles of the top stories in the legislature.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Board of Trustees Meeting: June 29 at Heritage Hall. 11 a.m.. Visit Board of Trustees for more information.
Summer I Session Ends: June 29
Summer II Session Begins: June 29
Points of Pride
Two Western Michigan University women aviators joined 50 other teams of women pilots on June 21-24, for the 2016 Air Race Classic, an 87-year-old cross-country race featuring top women flyers from around the nation.Read the whole
WMU News article.
Friends of WMU
The Friends of WMU is a grass roots bipartisan state political action committee of Broncos helping Broncos, registered with the Michigan Secretary of State, and established to promote the interests of Western Michigan University. The Friends of WMU understands that the state of Michigan needs to be a stronger financial partner with the university and provides support to legislators that place a priority on WMU. If you are interested in learning more, please visit their website at Friends of WMU.
State's Annual Spending Plan Finalized
The Michigan Legislature has completed the State's annual spending plan, finalizing their work on the budget months ahead of deadline. The $54.9 billion final spending plan for the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year was approved and sent to the Governor for signing on June 8th. It includes approximately $460 million in spending reductions from previous years. The Legislature also addressed issues surrounding the Flint water crisis and Detroit Public School reform adding another level of complexity and uncertainty to the budget process.
Legislative Republicans, who have firm majorities in each chamber, praised the FY 2017 budget for its increase in K-12 per pupil funding, a stronger commitment to veterans services and local revenue sharing all while facing reduced revenue numbers from the original prediction.
A summary of the complete spending plan can be found here.
Campus Sexual Assault Second Summit Scheduled
Michigan's First Lady, Sue Snyder, will hold a second summit on campus sexual assault which will include participation by high school campuses across the state. The "Inform. Empower. Prevent. Let's End Campus Sexual Assault" Summit will be held September 30 at the University of Michigan's North Campus Research Complex in Ann Arbor. The goal of the summit is to continue the fight against sexual assault on the state's college and university campuses.
Support for WMU from our Legislators
Western Michigan University benefited greatly from the hard work of the Southwest Michigan legislative delegation. The delegation secured funding for two key priorities at the University in a competitive budget environment.
The first project, championed by Representative John Bizon and Senator Mike Nofs, provides authorization for an expansion and renovation at WMU's celebrated College of Aviation. The $20 million project, with $15 million from the State and the balance raised by the University, will provide for an addition and renovation to address growing enrollments and limited capacity at the college's Aviation Education Center located on the WMU's W.K. Kellogg Airport campus in Battle Creek, Michigan.
The second project, advocated for by Representative Brandt Iden and supported by Representative Aric Nesbitt and Chairman Al Pscholka, will provide $500,000 in funding to the Michigan Geological Survey at Western Michigan University to perform statewide geologic mapping to assess, protect and carefully develop vital natural resources.
We greatly appreciate the work of our local legislators and their ability to work together to identify and elevate the projects that benefit Southwest Michigan.
The Bronco Legislative Network is an advocacy network managed by the
Office of Government Affairs and University Relations.
