![A man wearing glasses, a dark suit jacket, light blue dress shirt, and pink striped tie speaks at a podium bearing a partially visible placard reading "SPEAKER O[F—]." He is photographed from a slight angle in what appears to be a legislative office or hearing room, with floor-to-ceiling dark wood bookshelves filled with red and blue bound volumes behind him. A Michigan state flag is visible in the background to his left.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e9de20a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5712x3213+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F51%2Fbe%2Fb60cc0f24a65b9d3bce80dced07e%2Fduck0317-foto.jpeg)
The Legislature has just two weeks before a deadline to pass the state budget.
House Speaker Matt Hall said Wednesday that it will be Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s fault if the state blows past the July 1 deadline because she is overseas on a trade mission.
School districts, many local governments, public universities and community colleges are among the entities that rely on the budget being ready by July 1.
A deadlock between House Republicans, Senate Democrats and the Whitmer administration caused negotiations to drag past the deadline set in state law last year.
Hall (R-Richland Township) turned the tables on Democrats who’ve complained he’s foot-dragging as the July 1 budget deadline looms. The governor’s legislative team and budget director are around, but Hall said Whitmer is the final decision-maker and needs to be in the room.
“I’m saying that the governor leaving the country is making it appear like July 1 is very unlikely,” he said during a conversation with reporters on the House floor.
Hall has already floated the idea of adopting a continuation budget while discussions continue or even until after the November election to choose the next governor.
Whitmer’s State Budget Office said Hall is the roadblock. In a statement, the SBO said Hall is inducting other issues into what should be straightforward discussions.
One of those issues, the SBO said, is Hall’s proposed $5 billion property tax overhaul that would blow a huge hole in the state’s School Aid Fund without other tax increases
"Negotiations are ongoing and we have been meeting regularly with the legislature,” the statement said. “As soon as Speaker Hall moves away from his proposal to either blow a $5 billion hole in the school aid fund or raise $5 billion in taxes on working families, we will get a budget done quickly. Our focus remains passing a fiscal year 2027 budget ahead of the July 1 deadline that prioritizes investing in kids and protecting access to health care.”
Meanwhile, local governments and education institutions are nervously eyeing the calendar as they try to nail down their spending plans.
"Delays create uncertainty for the programs and partnerships that help students plan for their futures, whether through dual enrollment, college access initiatives, workforce training, or financial aid,” said Ryan Fewins-Bliss, executive director of Michigan College Access Network. “With state budget uncertainty comes institutional uncertainty followed by family uncertainty; fewer students enroll in college when this uncertainty persists."
