Michigan lawmakers could hold votes Tuesday on a new state budget to avoid a government shutdown.

At the invitation of Mayor Marcus Muhammad, state Representative Joey Andrews spoke at a budget town hall in Benton Harbor Monday, saying he still hasn’t seen the complete plan worked out between Republican and Democratic leadership, but it does avoid devastating cuts to key programs that were originally in the House plan.

Andrews said while we can’t expect significant funding increases to many programs, “no cuts is a win.” He added that applies to schools as the education budget could be the first thing the House votes on Tuesday night.

“I think we’re going to see basically a small increase in the per-pupil amount, maybe $100, $200 per pupil, real small increase there,” Andrews said. “School meals, the governor has assured me, are being held intact and that we are not going to be defunding the school meal program. And basically the rest of the education budget is going to be held neutral from last year.”

Andrews said the budget compromise also backfills a loss in Medicaid reimbursement funding that the state is facing because of the federal “Big, Beautiful Bill.” He added Medicaid affects more Michiganders than many people realize, with 50% of Michigan births being Medicaid births and rural areas being just as vulnerable as urban areas. He warned about the consequences of a gutted Medicaid.

“Medicaid underpins our healthcare system in a way that I just don’t think people talk about enough. And if you take that foundational block away, hospitals have to start charging more for care, which means insurance companies have to pass those costs on to the insured in the form of deductible and premium increases, which means people don’t go to get healthcare because they can’t afford to pay those premiums and deductibles, which means they show up at the hospital sicker, which then means care costs more money. And you can see how this kind of creates a death cycle.”

As for roads, Andrews said the budget contains $2 billion in funding that will be needed when Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 road bond dries up next year. Lawmakers accomplished that by increasing marijuana taxes, something he thinks will have to be reexamined later. He told the crowd more is needed for roads, but any kind of an increase is a win after decades of inaction.

Although he still hasn’t seen all details of the new budget, Andrews said the summary he’s received sounds “good-ish.”