Civil Rights Commission warns against proposed budget cuts

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(The Center Square) – As the budget process moves forward, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission is concerned about the effect proposed cuts could have on its department.

Under the proposed budget passed by House Republicans, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights would see a $15 million cut.

David Q. Worthams, chairman of the commission, called the cuts a “direct threat” to its ability to ensure Michiganders’ civil rights are not violated.

“Over the past three years, the department has made tremendous progress in reducing its case backlog — cutting processing times, moving more quickly to resolve complaints, and giving individuals who have faced discrimination a fairer and faster path to justice,” Worthams said in a statement. “A reduction of roughly half of the department’s total resources would undo this progress.”

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission investigates alleged discrimination against any person. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights serves as the operational arm of the Commission.

While the proposed reduction would be a cut from the 2024-2025 fiscal year’s gross appropriations for the department of $29.1 million, it would be more in line with the budgets of previous years.

For example, in the last few budgets the gross appropriations for the department were:

• $18 million in fiscal year 2020-2021

• $17.8 million in fiscal year 2021-2022

• $21.6 million in fiscal year 2022-2023

That means the 2024-2025 budget included an increase of 35% in just one fiscal year. Under the current proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, the department would receive a gross appropriation of $13.59 million, or a decrease of 53% from 2024-2025.

Worthams said those “targeted investments” of the increased budget have been critical to the work of the department. Without it, he warns of the impact it could have on the department.

“A reduction . . . would force the department to scale back staff and services, creating longer delays for justice, fewer investigations into discrimination, and weakened protections for Michiganders in housing, employment, education, and public services,” Worthams said.

It would also lead to the elimination of grants for the Charles H. Wright Museum, Arab American National Museum, and Holocaust Memorial Center, which Worthams said would be “devastating.”

Republicans, who currently control the state House and passed the initial budget which included the cuts, implemented their own version of the Trump administration's DOGE to cut the state budget.

“We delivered our House Republican budget, which successfully eliminates Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in the state of Michigan,” said Rep. Matt Hall, speaker of the House, in a statement on social media. “Senate Democrats – the ball is in your court. Do the right thing and PASS THIS BUDGET!”

Currently, the state budget is 63 days past its July 1 deadline. The new fiscal year is set to begin on October 1, or in just 29 days. If a deal is not made by then on the budget, the state faces a government shutdown.

Michigan has not experienced that since 2009, when a shutdown lasted mere hours before the budget was finalized.

With the Senate and governorship run by Democrats and the House run by Republicans, compromise will be necessary on the budget.

It is unclear if the cuts to the Department of Civil Rights are a compromise Republicans are willing to make, but it is certain that it is definitely on the Democrats’ radar as they highlighted it as number one on their list of “larger department cuts.”

As for the commission, Worthams argued for a total reinstatement of the department’s expanded budget.

“I urge the legislature and the governor to work together to restore this critical funding in the final budget,” he said. “Protecting the rights of all Michiganders requires not just words, but the resources necessary to act. We cannot afford to step backwards on civil rights.”