Majority Floor Leader Bryan Posthumus today said the new state budget advances House Republicans’ effort to reduce the size of state government, marking the second consecutive year lawmakers approved a budget that cuts general fund spending.

The budget reduces general fund spending by $859 million, eliminates an additional $800 million in waste, fraud and abuse, includes no new statewide taxes or fees and preserves the state’s rainy-day fund.

“For years, the answer in Lansing was always the same: spend more, hire more and grow government,” Posthumus said. “House Republicans rejected that mindset. We cut spending for the second straight year because taxpayers don’t need a bigger government, they need a government that works for them.”

The budget also includes reforms to strengthen accountability, including eliminating additional vacant state positions, requiring permit fee refunds when state agencies miss statutory deadlines, strengthening oversight of state technology spending, and protecting the state’s rainy-day fund.

“People in my district know you don’t fix bad habits by throwing more money at them,” Posthumus said. “When a budget keeps growing year after year, government doesn’t become more effective, it becomes less accountable. We drew a line, cut spending again, and put taxpayers ahead of bureaucracy.”

Posthumus said the budget demonstrates that government can meet its core responsibilities without expanding beyond what taxpayers can afford.

“We’re proving that conservative budgets work,” Posthumus said. “Spend less. Waste less. Trust the people who earned the money instead of the government that wants to spend it.”