Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Michigan Senate and Republican-led state House of Representatives accused one of another of holding up the state budget Wednesday, as they held competing press conferences.
Under Michigan law, lawmakers were supposed to pass a new state budget by July 1. That didn’t happen.
Schools
Despite talks of a last-minute deal to at least fund K-12 schools by that deadline, nothing got done. The House and Senate have each only held one day of voting on any legislation each since then.
A key difference both then and, apparently, now, is whether to dedicate money to specific purposes like free school meals or to give schools one lump sum to use at their discretion.
House Republican Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) proposed the latter.
“We give the school districts more money than they’ve ever had before. And they had the flexibility to choose to do free breakfast, free lunch, and free dinner if they want. They can have free snacks, they can afford it all. But they’re going to get to make those decisions,” Hall said Wednesday.
Democrats said that would put the longevity of universal free school meals, school safety programs, and reading or mental health supports at risk. That’s since the Republican plan would use rainy day fund dollars to pay for some of that extra money.
School districts have now gone a month and a half into their new fiscal year without knowing what funding they’ll get from the state. Students are going back to class in the coming days and weeks.
Some districts said they’ve already needed to cut programming. Senate Democrats say it’s all the House Republican’s fault.
“We passed a Senate budget that meets the needs of our public school system, raising per pupil funding to over $10,000 per student, continuing the popular school meals program, and prioritizing school safety, small class sizes, and school mental health, and that was months ago,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said.
How to divvy up school funding was only one part of the issue.
Roads
House Republicans wanted a roughly $3 billion road-funding plan passed alongside a schools budget. Hall said a Democratic proposal could break the impasse.
“Many of these Democrat elected officials in cities and counties are saying, ‘We’re supporting the Republican plan and there is no Democrat plan,’” Hall said.
But Brinks said Senate Democrats wouldn’t support any roads plan that risks taking money from schools and essential services, something she fears the House proposal would do.
“If we’re going to take tough votes, I want it to do the job, and I want it to do it well, and I want to do it in a fair way,” Brinks said.
Democrats say the House needs to show its math on funding schools and roads by unveiling its budget proposals for the rest of state government.
Brinks said budget talks can’t move forward until that happens.
“The numbers that the Speaker talks about publicly and that we have no paper for, there’s no bill that is passed to demonstrate where they would find the dollars, his numbers don’t add up. There simply are not enough dollars to do all the things that he says he would do,” Brinks said.
The bigger picture
Brinks said normal budget negotiations follow a routine.
First, Brinks said each chamber passes their spending proposals for each department. Then leaders agree on spending targets for how much a total budget should cost. Finally, negotiators from both sides of the legislature hash out the details with the governor’s office.
Brinks and other Senate Democrats accused Hall of holding everything up.
Hall disagreed with that assessment, however, during his own press conference Wednesday afternoon. He accused the Senate of playing politics and argued its budget proposal is outdated since revenue estimates have decreased with new federal policies.
“What Democrats did with their budget, which spends billions more than we have, is they tried to satisfy everyone. They tried to make everyone happy. They put things in there that they don’t have any intention of really doing,” Hall said.
The Senate passed its budget proposal in mid-May based on January consensus revenue estimates that were later revised downward. Spending and tax cuts made in the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act could push that state revenue down further.
Despite those factors, Hall maintained Wednesday that the state could still afford to “magnify” tax cuts in the OBBA, including on tipped wages, overtime pay, and social security income by fiscal belt tightening.
Democrats were doubtful.
If lawmakers don’t reach an agreement by October 1, the state government could face a shutdown. With that deadline looming, both leaders took different stances.
Hall told he reporters he believes Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has said she doesn’t view a budget as being done until a roads deal is done, will eventually step in and help him out.
“I have confidence in Governor Whitmer though, that she will corral these Democrats and get them to work with us, and we’ll get a budget done. And I’m looking forward September 30, standing next to Governor Whitmer, celebrating a state budget,” Hall said.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
With both sides still seemingly worlds apart, however, Brinks was less confident.
“Given the track record that we’ve seen from House Republicans, I am concerned … We should’ve been doing all of this together as a legislature months ago. It’s not impossible to get it done, but the clock is ticking,” Brinks said.
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