Inside 208

After seeing the House and Senate take no action throughout the day on September 30, the Governor, Speaker, and Senate Majority Leader released a statement that said the legislature will pass a full budget this week and that government will run as normal. The opening of the statement made the following two comments, and overall neglected to mention any protection for revenue sharing.

• “The budget will ensure top priorities for both Democrats and Republicans are included in the bipartisan budget, such as funding to fix state and local roads, decreasing taxes for working families, protecting Medicaid and hospitals, record per-pupil education funding, free breakfast and lunch, public safety investments, modernizing Selfridge, and more. The administration and legislative leaders will continue meeting to finalize and pass the budget.”
• “In the meantime, state government operations will continue, providing services to Michiganders. After the final pages of the budget are typed, the Legislature will vote. Then, clerks will prepare it for transmittal to the governor for her final review and signature.”

Shortly before midnight, it became increasingly clear that the legislature would pass a continuing budget bill to keep government running for seven days while final details and bill drafting still needed to be completed. House Bill 4161 passed the Senate 31-2 at 1:30 a.m. The House, at 1:45 a.m., passed the bill 103-4 and ordered the bill enrolled. It was formally presented to the Governor for signature at 3:26 a.m. and signed at 4:07 a.m.

Revenue Sharing

Not much has changed since our last update as budget details have been held tight and many legislators remain in the dark about the finer points in the budget.

Concern remains that revenue sharing, both constitutional and statutory, could be reduced.

Constitutional revenue sharing is projected to be cut by $95M (8.8%) because of no longer charging sales tax on gas. Previously, there was broad agreement to backfill this loss and hold local government harmless, but that continues to be in serious jeopardy

Cuts to statutory revenue sharing that were included in the House budget, also remain a possibility. These cuts amount to a 12% reduction, $40M for cities, villages, and townships, and $35M for counties.

While many of you have reached out to your senators and representatives, with the passage of a continuation budget, we need to reach out again. We need you to ask, and your legislators should tell you where they stand on cutting revenue sharing. The question to ask is simple.

Will you support a budget that does not hold constitutional and statutory revenue sharing harmless?

As local leaders and elected officials, you deserve to know where your legislators stand on cutting revenue sharing and how they plan to vote on funding that provides critical services to your residents.

There is little time to waste. Even with a seven-day continuation budget, implementation bills could be voted on as soon as today and voting on the larger budget deal as soon as Friday. Do not delay in asking your legislators how they will vote on a budget that does not hold constitutional and statutory revenue sharing harmless.

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0303.