The Legislature returns to the state Capitol on Tuesday with a month until the legal deadline to have the state budget finalized.
There is a lot of work to get done to meet that July 1st deadline, which is also when many school districts, local governments, public universities and community colleges begin their budget years.
The Legislature missed that deadline last year – as well as the constitutional October 1 deadline -- and negotiations this year appear to be moving slowly.
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) says getting the budget finished needs to be the Legislature’s top priority.
“The task at hand for the next 30 days, the thing that we have the most ability to influence and control for the good of the people of Michigan is passing a responsible, balanced budget and doing so on time,” Brinks said last week at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island.
One of the big questions is whether the Legislature will draw from the state’s “rainy day” fund to address an expected slowdown in revenue growth.
House Speaker Matt Hall (R- Richland Twp) said last week that he will hold out for no tax increases or withdrawals from the Budget Stabilization Fund – the state’s “rainy day” savings.
“You can make investments in education and roads, public safety and local governments, and your ‘rainy day’ fund,” he said. “We’re going to put more money in the ‘rainy day’ fund.”
Hall refused to commit to the July 1 deadline without getting his way on revenue and raiding the budget fund.
A spokesperson for the State Budget Office would not comment substantively on the status of discussions, but said in a text message that “meetings/negotiations are taking place and they’re making progress toward passing a budget that invests in kids and protects access to health care before the July 1 deadline.”
