LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) – It was a boring day for those coming up with Michigan’s next budget – which is exactly how the state treasurer likes it.

It’s “good for forecasting revenues and finalizing a budget,” said Rachael Eubanks.

Eubanks, along with the government’s other top bean counters gathered Friday to work on finalizing the annual budget for Michigan in the upcoming fiscal year. 

“Tax collections are strong. Corporate income tax, income tax withholding, and interest earnings are strong. Economic growth and higher wages are leading to higher income tax collections,” said Eubanks during a Zoom meeting.

She said individual spending was up and wage increases were outpacing inflation – both good indicators of a healthy economy.

“Our labor force is at its strongest since 2001,” said Eubanks.

The good news doesn’t stop there. Since last January, the state coffers have grown by $235 million dollars, which state officials were not expecting. 

That’s for lawmakers to spend as they compose the new state budget. The process has included criticism from Republicans, specifically from Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) who accused Democrats of “squandering the state’s $9 billion budget surplus on pet projects and corporate handouts in 2023.”

He also claimed the governor had raided the teacher pension fund to pay for her education budget.

While rare, it’s not outside of the possibility the state budget director would take a political shot at any lawmaker. But on Friday, Jen Flood did just that.

“The minority leader has a new found support for teachers and retirees it seems because his votes earlier on in his career cut funding for schools and taxpayers,” she said.

Despite concerns about the financial hit that electric vehicles could impose upon U.S. automakers, the state treasurer didn’t believe it would impact Michigan revenue streams for now. 

“I don’t think that’s a troublesome point yet,” Eubanks said. “We’ve seen really strong profit-sharing happen with the major car makers and while there is that potential risk on the horizon, its not something se can see today.

Lawmakers will try to have a finished state budget by the end of June. 

As if the instability of the NCAA’s transfer portal era hasn’t already overtaken college sports, particularly football, Friday night it reached a new level.

Michigan State football and Michigan made a virtual trade.

Shortly after losing starting safety Jaden Mangham to the rival Wolverines, the Spartans picked up a commitment from U-M transfer linebacker Semaj Bridgeman.

The 6-foot-2, 246-pound native of Philadelphia has all four years of eligibilty remaining after taking a redshirt during the Wolverines’ College Football Playoff championship season last fall. Bridgeman was a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 300 overall player and No. 23 linebacker in the 2023 class, according to 247 Sports’ composite ratings.

OFFSEASON CHEAT SHEET: Can’t keep up with Michigan State football roster moves?

MSU faces U-M on Oct. 26 in Ann Arbor.

Bridgeman is new Spartans coach Jonathan Smith’s 24th incoming transfer since being hired in late November and 12th addition since spring practice ended April 20. He was the third player Friday to pledge to play this fall in East Lansing, along with safety Nikai Martinez (Central Florida) and cornerback Jeremiah Hughes (LSU).

With the Spartans, Bridgeman joins a linebacker room that continues to stockpile depth and talent under new defensive coordinator Joe Rossi.

Jordan Turner (Wisconsin) and Wayne Matthews III (Old Dominion) arrived in January as transfers, joining senior stalwart Cal Haladay, rising sophomore Jordan Hall, veteran Darius Snow and true freshman early enrollee Brady Pretzlaff during spring practice. MSU also picked up pledges in the past month from Marcellius Pulliam of Miami (Florida) and landed commitments from two of the state’s best linebackers for 2025 in Charles “DJ” White from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and DiMari Malone from Macomb Dakota.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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Washington — Michigan Democrats are alleging fraudulent signatures and calling for an investigation into the nominating petitions for Republican U.S. Senate candidates, according to a complaint filed Friday.

The complaint to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers follows “an initial and limited review” of the petitions and specifically names four candidates: Former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers of Brighton, Justin Amash of Cascade Township and Peter Meijer of Grand Rapids Township as well as Grosse Pointe businessman Sandy Pensler. Meijer withdrew from the race in late April.

“The apparent fraud uncovered demands an immediate investigation of the Republican Senate candidates’ nominating petitions,” said Lavora Barnes, Michigan Democratic Party chair.

Complaints like the Democratic Party’s have become commonplace in recent years, in many instances leading to the removal of Democratic and Republican candidates from the ballot. If this latest complaint is substantiated, it could upend a crowded GOP primary Senate contest set for August.

The Board of State Canvassers is comprised of two Republicans and two Democrats.

But at least one Republican campaign accused the Democrats of playing politics.

“Democrats can’t beat Republicans at the ballot box, so it looks like they are trying to eliminate Republicans from the ballot. Sandy Pensler turned in over 26,000 signatures. He clearly qualifies for the ballot which is why no timely challenge was filed,” said Stu Sandler, a spokesperson for Pensler, a Grosse Pointe Park businessman seeking the GOP nomination.

The complaint, filed by the Elias Law Group, alleged “at least five” markers of fraudulent signatures by the GOP candidates:

• “Clear, full page circulator fraud with evidence that all lines of the petition were filled out by the same person.
• Voters’ names appearing across multiple candidates’ petitions in different handwriting with errors in addresses and spelling.
• Voters’ names appearing within a single candidate’s petition more than once, in different handwriting with errors in addresses and spelling.
• Evidence of a “round-robin” scheme, which refers to instances of signature gatherers for different campaigns taking turns signing candidates’ petitions from names on a voter list.
• Visible circulator handwriting and signature mismatches.”

The Democratic Party explained why Meijer was named in the complaint even though he dropped out of the race.

“Although Mr. Meijer has suspended his campaign, we believe the Board should know the full extent of potential fraud across these four candidates’ nominating petitions,” the complaint said. 

“There is a well-documented history of significant fraudulent signatures on Republican nominating petitions in Michigan. In the 2022 election cycle, five gubernatorial candidates and three judicial candidates were not certified to appear on the ballot due to fraudulent signatures,” the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said in a press release.

Look back: James Craig, Perry Johnson, 3 others ineligible for ballot, Bureau of Elections says (2022)

On the Democratic side, elections staff at the Wayne County Clerk’s Office determined Thursday that Democratic U.S. House candidate Adam Hollier of Detroit did not have enough valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot in the 13th Congressional District. That came after first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit, challenged the signatures Hollier’s campaign collected.

The county staff recommendation isn’t final, as an official determination hasn’t yet been made by Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett on the sufficiency of Hollier’s petition.

gschwab@detroitnews.com

@GrantSchwab