Overnight into October 3, the Michigan Legislature and Governor Whitmer reached a budget agreement for FY2026. Budget legislation was subsequently passed by the House and Senate and is headed to the Governor’s desk for signature. MABA and the broader agriculture industry have been highly engaged on the budget process, and agreement of a bipartisan FY26 budget is an important, welcome development. We appreciate members of the Legislature from both parties, and leaders in the Administration, for getting this budget across the finish line. The agreement avoids a costly state shutdown and addresses many topics important to agriculture and MABA. Here are some topics of interest to MABA members: Agriculture Industry Fees and Support for Stewardship Programs: The budget process finalized a bipartisan agreement that continues certain agriculture industry fees (pesticide registration and fertilizer tonnage fees) at their current levels until October 1, 2029. In a slight change, the final enacted sunset date is earlier than the December 2030 date that had originally been passed out of the Senate. This outcome is positive for MABA members and farmers. It continues strong industry support for stewardship programs, such as the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). Avoiding a fee increase is a common-sense step during a time of economic uncertainty facing agriculture. PPPM: One of MABA’s top priorities during the budget process was supporting full funding for the MDARD Pesticide and Plant Pest Management (PPPM) function, which carries out regulations governing crop input use, provides critical food-grade export inspections, and more. This line item is fully funded at current year levels in the final budget. We appreciate the listening ear of lawmakers on this topic. MSU: The Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture and Agriculture Resiliency Program were partially funded versus levels supported by the agricultural industry, and work will continue to support the critical work of MSU in these areas. MABA values the strong partnership with MSU CANR, Extension and AgBioResearch and prioritized these topics during the budget negotiations. We will keep members updated going forward. Roads: This budget secures $1.5-2 billion in funding for roads in the coming years. This includes enacting a 24% wholesale tax on cannabis and decoupling state and federal tax structures. Additionally a ‘Fuel tax swap’ removes the 6% sales tax on fuel and replaces it with a 20-cents-a-gallon increase in fuel tax. Changing the structure enables sending the entire tax collected to road and bridge maintenance. EGLE: The budget includes an item requiring EGLE to report the number of permit application appeals filed each fiscal year, as well as the number of applications approved within 30, 60 and 90 days, 6 months and one year after an application is determined administratively complete. Questions about the budget? Please contact Chuck Lippstreu at MABA.
