UPDATE: 1:58 AM ET WEDNESDAY:
A change of course for the state budget process early Wednesday morning as state lawmakers decided to pass a temporary state budget rather than have Governor Gretchen Whitmer :ssue executive orders to avoid a state government shutdown.
“It’ll help us finalize the finer points of the deal without shutting the government down,” State Senator Ed McBroom (R-Norway) told RRN News early Wednesday. “By passing a continuing resolution, it is a budget, but it’s a very, very short-term budget, until we pass a long, full-term budget. We’re meeting the letter of the law specifically and it simply maintains the next seven days as if there were seven more days on the calendar. There’s still work to be done, but it’s kind of dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s at this point.”
CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S SECOND INTERVIEW WITH STATE SEN. ED MCBROOM
BELOW: ORIGINAL STORY POSTED 12:44 A.M. ET WEDNESDAY, SCROLL DOWN FOR INTERVIEW
The deadline for a state budget passed at midnight Wednesday morning, and there is no budget in place. But there is also no government shutdown. Governor Gretchen Whitmer says the government will stay open and the budget will officially be done this week.
The Michigan Constitution requires a signed, balanced budget by October 1st at 12:01 a.m., so how can the shutdown be averted? Upper Peninsula State Senator Ed McBroom told RRN News in a late-night interview from the floor of the Michigan Senate that the governor will act to keep the state government open.
“The constitution says they can’t expend any money, and you could make the argument that people going to work tomorrow is expending money,” McBroom (R-Norway) said. “But we also don’t expect tomorrow to open all the prison doors, and not send folks into any jobs either. The government has to continue to operate, and I believe that the governor can, at least for a brief time, can use some executive authority.”
McBroom says it’s not the best way to do things, as he would prefer the legislature passing continuing resolutions to extend previous funding levels for a couple of days.
“Right now, the agreement has really been reached,” McBroom said. “It’s just waiting for the copy machines and the lawyers and the ink to dry to get all the procedural parts done. But the deal has been struck.”
But what is in that “deal”?
“We’re increasing spending for roads, and I certainly would like more of that to be targeted for rural areas,” McBroom said. “We’re increasing money for schools. I certainly would re-jigger a bit how that money is distributed. The cuts to the arts across the state, I think, are unwise, and unnecessary. But this major overhaul and reform to how we do road funding is of paramount importance to me.”
As of 12:30 Wednesday morning, the House Republicans and House Democrats were both in caucus meetings. McBroom said the Senate has not taken a vote on any bills, and he expects it to be a long night.
“We’re in a holding pattern while the drafters and printers and all the lawyers get done,” he said. “Then I believe we’re going to take a series of votes that then have to go to the House, and they’re meeting after midnight. We (Senators) will be back in the morning and hopefully the deal doesn’t fall apart, either. But, overall, I think we’ve got a good framework to operate on. We’ve made some very important concessions on both sides.”
Whitmer, meanwhile, has told state employees to report to work on Wednesday morning as usual. A joint statement with the Michigan House Speaker and Michigan Senate Majority Leader promised that a budget will be finalized in the coming days.
The last state government shutdown happened in 2009 under Gov. Jennifer Granholm. That lasted only two hours.
CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH STATE SEN. ED MCBROOM
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