Great Lakes Wire

As the statutory deadline of July 1 passed without any budget bills approved by the Legislature, no conference committee has been initiated. The House was in session for eight hours, and the Senate's K-12 bill was on the agenda but not passed.

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) informed reporters that there was "100 percent certainty that there will not be a negotiated budget bill in front of us today." By late afternoon, the Senate confirmed that "attendance will not be taken. No votes will be taken."

After adjournment, it seemed possible that the House might amend SB 166, a bill introduced by Senate K-12 Budget Chair Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) for Fiscal Year 2025-26. However, following a caucus meeting later in the evening, the House voted on three policy bills before adjourning.

House Speaker Matt Hall commented after the session: “Once (the Senate) adjourned, then I felt like we should go to House Democrats... Normally, there’s no reason to work with some of the minority party members on a budget.” He saw an opportunity for House Democrats to play a significant role in negotiations after Senate Democrats adjourned.

Democratic sources indicated that House Democrats had enough votes to pass a K-12 budget but opted against it. Hall expressed doubt about proposing another partisan budget bill and questioned its effectiveness in reaching an agreement with Senate Democrats by July 15.

Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) stated: “A lot of it was hearsay... Matt Hall and the Republicans have not given us a reason to ever take them at their word.” He criticized Hall's approach as ineffective.

Hall described Puri and House Democrats as irrelevant but clarified he still needed cooperation from other Democratic members. He stated his intention to continue working with Senate Democrats and Governor Gretchen Whitmer without involving House Democrats further.

Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) remarked: “We will take a look at all future proposals from the Speaker... Schools lost today. Local roads lost today.”

Puri noted his exclusion from negotiations as problematic: "(Hall) is someone whose feelings get hurt when he doesn’t get his way," adding nothing substantial had been offered to gain support from House Democrats.

With the missed deadline now behind them, Hall acknowledged it could take considerable time to finalize an agreement. Peter Spadafore of the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity commented on this failure: “They didn’t miss the deadline. They broke the law.”

The article is provided courtesy of MIRS News for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter.