There is now less than a week for the Legislature and Governor Gretchen Whitmer to finalize a bipartisan budget deal before the deadline that would trigger a partial state government shutdown.
The walkway leading up the front steps of the state Capitol has become a daily gathering spot for people demonstrating against potential budget cuts and calling on state lawmakers to get the budget done.
“Because it’s time for people to stop trying to score political points and get down to the business, the state business, of securing a budget that benefits everybody in the state and not just some political agenda,” said Rebecca Taylor, who works for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
She said the standoff threatens to close programs that protect clean air and water, and leaves state employees like her uncertain about whether they will be able to continue to do their jobs. Taylor said she has not gotten word of what would happen to her position in case of a partial government shutdown.
The Whitmer administration has not shared its plans to manage a shutdown if it comes to that, but is banking on a late-breaking budget deal.
“It is the Legislature's job to pass a budget that will help Michigan families thrive. Once that budget is passed, it will go to the governor's desk for signature,” said State Budget Office spokesperson Lauren Leeds in an email. “We know Team Michigan has been working hard to reach a budget deal so Michiganders can continue to receive the critical state services they depend on every day. There has been good progress made over the last few weeks, and we are optimistic that we can get a deal done.”
A budget deal must be bipartisan because the state House is under Republican control and the Senate has a Democratic majority.
The House and Senate are adding meeting days to the schedule and could work into the weekend to get a budget done, but legislative leaders are also acknowledging an on-time budget may not be in the cards.
“I personally am operating under the expectation that it’s going to be done by 11:59 (p.m.) on September 30,” said Representative Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford), the House Majority floor leader. “That’s my expectation. That’s what our voters sent us here to do. We’re going to do everything we can in order to get there.”
But he has also added new session days to the calendar after the deadline – just in case the Legislature is playing catch-up after the deadline.
In anticipation of a partial state government shutdown, the Michigan Attorney General’s office is asking courts to delay cases, especially those scheduled to be heard the first week of October 1. It will be up to the presiding judge in those cases to decide whether to grant the requests. The office has alerted employees that layoffs could be on the way without a budget deal by the beginning of the state’s fiscal year on October First. That would leave a skeleton staff in place to handle their remaining responsibilities.
The Attorney General’s office said many public-facing services would be suspended. Those include accepting consumer complaints as well as reports of elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and identity theft, said Attorney General’s office spokesperson Kimberly Bush.
She also said prosecutions in Lake County, where the Attorney General’s office is handling the job while the position is vacant, would cease on October 1.
The Michigan Secretary of State’s office manages some of the government’s public-facing responsibilities with branch offices that issue driver’s licenses and IDs, license plates and vehicle registrations, as well as registering voters and overseeing elections. A spokesperson did not share details, but said the office is running through various scenarios of how a partial shutdown might unfold.
“Hard to say more without knowing more,” said Angela Benander, chief communications officer for the Michigan Department of State, in a text message.
