Lawmakers announce budget agreement will come before Oct. 1

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(The Center Square) – Late Thursday night, Michigan state leadership announced plans to pass a bipartisan budget before the end of the fiscal year on Wednesday.

Coming less than a week before a potential state government shutdown, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, and House Speaker Matt Hall all released statements applauding the announcement.

“Today’s agreement in the legislature puts us on a path to lower costs, fix the damn roads, and pass a balanced, bipartisan budget by Oct. 1,” said Whitmer. “In Michigan, we’ve proven again and again that we can work together to get things done by staying focused on the kitchen-table issues that make a real difference in people’s lives.”

Whitmer, a Democrat, expressed gratitude to leaders from both sides of the aisle for working together to compromise on the budget, especially as a potential shutdown also looms for the national government.

“In Michigan, we’ve proven again and again that we can work together to get things done by staying focused on the kitchen-table issues that make a real difference in people’s lives,” she said. “Amid so much national economic uncertainty, I am proud that we are taking action to lower costs, cut taxes for seniors and working families, create jobs, fund schools, fix roads, keep people safe and healthy, and so much more.”

The legislature plans to vote next week to pass both the School Aid budget and state budget, which is now 87 days past due.

While little details are known about its contents yet, both sides aid they were satisfied that their top priorities were included.

For Brinks and the Democrat-majority in the state Senate, that included a budget that “boosts education, improves roads, and protects health care.”

“The framework we have agreed to reflects the priorities of Michiganders from every region,” Brinks said. “While no budget will be a perfect product, I am confident that the final result we vote on next week will have features that benefit every resident.”

Hall and the Republican-majority in the House have been focused on cutting wasteful spending “We have an opportunity here to reform Michigan’s broken process and get much better value for the taxpayers,” said Hall. “There is still work to be done, but it is an important step that all of us are agreeing to implement meaningful tax relief for Michigan workers and seniors, bring transparency and accountability to the earmark process for the first time, and eliminate ghost employees.”

He added that it also meets the Republicans’ top priorities.

“Government has grown far too much in recent years, and we need to trim the waste, fraud and abuse in Lansing,” Hall said. “That’s how we can afford the real priorities of Michigan families – like education, public safety, and fixing our local roads and bridges. This agreement puts us in position to do just that.”

July 1 was the legally mandated statutory deadline for the finalization of the entire budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, including the separate School Aid budget.

That deadline came and went, after Republicans and Democrats proposed vastly different education budget plans, as previously reported by The Center Square.

Over the past few months, there has been great uncertainty for many programs, like free school lunches and after-school programs.

With the Senate and governorship run by Democrats and the House run by Republicans, compromise from both sides was necessary on the budget.

If the respective parties do not follow through and a budget deal is not passed by Wednesday, the state will face a government shutdown. Michigan has not faced that since 2009, when a shutdown lasted mere hours before the budget was finalized.