Senate passes school-aid amendment after marathon debate and multiple failed amendments

The Michigan Senate on March 17 approved Senate Bill 56, an amendment to the State School Aid Act of 1979, following hours of floor debate and a series of failed amendment votes. The bill passed on final passage by a roll-call that the secretary recorded as 19 aye, 17 no and 1 excused.

Why it matters: SB 56 adjusts state school aid and was considered amid competing proposals about how to direct near-term education funding and policy priorities. Lawmakers offered a range of amendments during the closed-book supplemental budget debate seeking to add or strip priorities from the bill, from immigration-related funding conditions to immediate reading and tutoring investments.

Floor debate and major amendment attempts

Senator Matt Runstead offered Amendment No. 1, which would have withheld taxpayer funds from any public university or community college that indicates it would not enforce federal immigration laws. Runstead argued public institutions receiving “hundreds of millions” in state aid must “follow the law.” Senator Anthony urged a no vote on timing grounds, saying supplemental budget deliberations were not the time for that policy change. The amendment was put to a roll call and was not adopted (clerk announced the result as recorded in the session transcript; amendment not adopted). The senate ordered the ayes and nays before the vote.

Senator Albert offered Amendment No. 2 to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, invoking a prior presidential executive order. Albert described the amendment as restoring “fairness and merit-based opportunity.” The amendment failed on a roll call (not adopted).

Senator Tice’s Amendment No. 3 proposed immediate allocation of $500 million for reading supports — tutoring, before- and after-school programming and summer school — citing poor reading scores among Michigan fourth and eighth graders. The amendment was put to the ayes and nays and did not garner the votes required (not adopted).

Senator Weber’s Amendment No. 4 sought to restore school safety and mental health funding that Weber said had been cut by 50% last year; that amendment likewise failed on the floor vote (not adopted).

Other amendment sponsors included Senators McBroom (Amendment No. 5, targeted assistance for a local district citing asbestos/HVAC costs), Hauck, Hoytenga, Haug, Bellino and others; each amendment was debated briefly and then rejected by recorded votes as indicated in the transcript (each listed amendment was not adopted).

Final passage and procedural notes

After the amendment process concluded, the question on final passage of SB 56 was taken. The secretary announced the recorded vote as 19 aye, 17 no, 1 excused and the bill passed. The transcript records multiple requests for ayes and nays and that several amendments were available on the Legislature’s session web as identified by amendment numbers.

Quotes

"If they won't follow the law, they won't get money. Period. These organizations have been openly ignoring the law, and this must end," Senator Matt Runstead said in support of his amendment.

"We can't wait to help our kids. They need help right now," Senator Tice said in urging immediate funding for reading supports.

What the record shows and what it does not

The transcript includes sponsors' descriptions of their amendments and the roll-call outcomes as announced by the secretary. Where the transcript records the clerk’s announcement of vote totals, this article reports those announcements verbatim (the clerk recorded final passage as 19 aye, 17 no, 1 excused). The bill text and any fiscal estimates referenced on the floor are available on the Legislature's session web; specifics about precise dollar-line items in the enacted text are not spelled out in the spoken record on the floor and are not reported here.

Next steps

Senate Bill 56 will proceed as passed by the Senate; any changes or final fiscal details will be included in enrolled legislation and accompanying documentation available from the Legislature and the Department of Treasury.