Lee este reportaje en español aquí.
The Michigan Legislature reconvenes Tuesday at the state Capitol with the deadline looming to finish the state budget.
The state’s fiscal year doesn’t begin until October 1.
But, by law, the deadline to wrap up the budget is July 1. However, there’s no legal penalty for legislators if they don’t get it done on time. Still, it matters to schools, local governments, community colleges and public universities that all have fiscal years officially beginning at the start of July.
Lawmakers are working with an estimated $31.3 billion as they craft the final versions of budget bills. That’s a little less revenue than in the last budget. State economic forecasters say that’s due to some tax policy changes and not a downturn in the economy.
Led by Democratic majorities, the Legislature could also adopt voting rights bills to make it easier for people to get to the polls and cast ballots.