The Michigan Legislature adjourned Wednesday evening after missing the July 1 legal deadline to adopt a state budget. That means schools, community colleges, public universities and many local governments will have to wait to finalize their budgets — even though their fiscal years began Wednesday.
The Republican-controlled House and the Senate, which is led by Democrats, plan to reconvene Thursday to hold up-or-down votes on the two main budget bills if a deal can be finalized overnight.
Representative Mike Harris (R-Waterford Township) said he understands why people might be frustrated by the delay.
“But I can tell you I think all parties want to get this done,” he said. “I don’t think this is a stall-tactic type deal. I think we just want to have a very responsible budget to put forth to our taxpayers.”
But school lobbyists said a late budget by definition is not a responsible budget – especially since the Legislature has had its final revenue number for six weeks.
“They had plenty of time to put together a thoughtful, responsible budget instead of bringing it right down to the wire and now blowing past their deadline,” said Jennifer Smith of the Michigan Association of School Boards.
School lobbyists say a late state budget puts them in a tougher position in making hiring and program decisions for the coming fiscal year. This is the second year in a row the Legislature has missed the deadline.
Senator Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton), who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said a lot of other issues are being brought into the budget talks, which slowed things down.
“I can’t give you a list today because there are too many things we’re trying to address and so there’s lots of conversations happening about all kinds of items,” he said Wednesday. “Hopefully we can land a deal where we’re addressing some of them. I mean, we’re not going to be able to fix everything – that’s a reality.”
The next step is for joint House and Senate conference committees to meet if a deal can reached overnight. If the committees agree to the bills, the House and the Senate would hold up-or-down votes with no amendments allowed on the two main budget bills and send them to the governor before leaving for the July Fourth weekend.
The Legislature did agree Wednesday on a measure to extend an energy emergency declaration by Governor Gretchen Whitmer that allows Michigan gas stations to delay the transition to the more-expensive summer fuel blend. The 90-day order was in response to rising fuel costs caused in part by the war with Iran. It would have expired without legislative approval.
“I’m grateful for partners in both chambers of the legislature who worked across the aisle to get this done,” Whitmer said in a statement released by her office. “Let’s keep working together to make a difference on the issues that matter and put money back in Michiganders’ pockets.”
The statement made no mention of missing the budget deadline.
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