The future of the Pure Michigan tourism campaign was thrown into limbo last year when its funding was scratched in a line-item veto from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

For Fiscal Year 2021, the Whitmer administration is proposing bringing back some - but not all - spending for Pure Michigan.

While presenting the governor’s plan to members of the legislature, Budget Director Chris Kolb said the administration is calling for $15 million “with the ability for the tourism industry to continue contributing additional funding to this statewide effort.”

During the last budget process, Whitmer initially suggested a $5 million decrease from the campaign’s $36 million in funding in Fiscal Year 2019, and the legislature came back and passed a budget that would have increased funding to $37.5 million.

When Whitmer signed the budget with 147 line-item vetoes, the entire Pure Michigan line item was defunded - and Pure Michigan wasn’t included in subsequent supplemental spending deals. After the veto, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation secured funding to fulfill existing campaigns through the end of 2019.

Travel industry insiders have called for Pure Michigan funding to be fully restored - although some critics praised the governor’s decision to veto funding for the campaign last year, arguing it’s ineffective and unfairly favors certain industries over others.

In a statement, Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association President & CEO Justin Winslow called the elimination of Pure Michigan funding “unjustifiable” and put Michigan’s hospitality industry in jeopardy.

“We are willing and ready to be part of the solution going forward, but the time for political theater is over," he said. "Fix the mistake, restore Pure Michigan, and let’s move forward together for the best interests of our state and residents.”

At a press conference following the budget presentation, Whitmer said she has always supported Pure Michigan, but said she felt the general fund “is not the place” to pay for the campaign to the extent it was in previous years.

“The budget I’ve introduced makes a sizable investment in Pure Michigan, and I’m happy about that,” she said. “The tourism industry I know thinks that there should be additional dollars there, and I’m eager to work with them on where those dollars might come from.”

Whitmer’s comments echo past remarks Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, made to reporters in December about the future of the Pure Michigan campaign.

“Those who benefit the most from Pure Michigan should be the ones who primarily fund it,” he said at the time. “We came up with a research and development project, a test to see if this would work. Taxpayers funded it, proved that it would work, so it took all of the risk out of that risky investment. And now I believe the industry should own most of it.”

Several Republican lawmakers have advocated for a full restoration of Pure Michigan funding for both the current fiscal year and moving forward, however. Rep. Jack O’Malley, R-Lake Ann, and Sen. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, are backing legislation that would restore funding to $37.5 million - the amount initially approved by the state legislature for the current fiscal year before Whitmer’s veto.

Sen. Ken Horn, R-Frankenmuth, chairs the labor and economic opportunity/MEDC subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said supplemental legislation allocating Pure Michigan funding for the current fiscal year is “going to come shortly" and said he’s anticipating the Senate’s Pure Michigan recommendation for the next budget cycle will be higher than Whitmer’s.

The Pure Michigan campaign made its first regional debut in 2006, and was launched to a nationwide audience for the first time in 2010.

Pure Michigan has since evolved to become a core part of the state’s economic development brand, resulting in partnerships with corporations like Coca-Cola. Partnerships with Michigan companies and local artists have produced Pure Michigan ice cream, Vernors cans and an ambient music album.

The phrase is featured on the state’s license plates and welcome signs, and is also a popular hashtag on social media, where people share their best Michigan nature photos and comment on life in the state.

Related coverage:

No funding coming for Pure Michigan in immediate future

Pure Michigan budget cut stings for travel industry: ‘It feels like a veto of our state’

Pure Michigan ads will remain on airwaves for now, despite budget cut

From Water Wonderland to Pure Michigan: A history of the Great Lakes state’s tourism campaigns