LANSING — Typically, "use it or lose it" are words that guide state agency directors when managing annual budget allocations.

Money left unspent goes back into state coffers at the end of each fiscal year.

But there is a significant exception to that rule — one that has seen dramatic growth since the start of the pandemic and has emerged as a major element in the partisan fight over finalizing a state budget for 2026, as the Oct. 1 deadline nears.

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