LANSING — Michigan House Republicans put forward a partial state budget proposal Thursday, surprising their Democratic colleagues and breaking with the traditional process.
Republican House Speaker Matt Hall says the $7.4 billion plan would guarantee funding for essential services and separate their functions from what is likely to be a contentious negotiation process.
In its current form, the bill — HB 4161 — only provides funding for the Department of Corrections, the Judiciary, Military and Veterans Affairs, State Police and some government operations. It also provides about 75% of the annual education budget.
“We can fund those things now. We can ensure that they’re funded through the next fiscal year,” Hall said. “And then let’s get to work going line by line through the budget, getting value for your tax dollars, looking at return on investment in all these other programs.”
Republicans say that these areas of funding would likely be non-contentious anyways.
Without an agreement by Oct. 1 — the end of the fiscal year — the state government would shut down for the first time since Jennifer Granholm’s administration. And with a newly-split state government, some areas of spending could come under greater scrutiny and drag out negotiations.
“We are not working towards a shutdown. This is not our budget,” said Rep. Ann Bollin, Republican chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “It is a government shutdown prevention plan to open up and start the conversation in earnest, to show that we are serious about having an open and transparent process.”
The current plan provides no funding for Health and Human Services, the Department of Natural Resources, the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, among other agencies.
The partial education budget — HB 4162 — is about 25% lower than the previous year’s, and currently provides no funding for career and technical education or for universal school breakfast and lunch.
“These are programs that help keep our kids bellies full and allow them to receive an education, and they’re wildly popular beyond any sort of partisan debate,” said House Democratic Leader Ranjeev Puri. “And so why? Why politicize the ability to feed a hungry child for your own political gain?”
The bills passed through the House on nearly party-line votes. House Democrats say they were presented with the proposals less than an hour before voting, and Senate Democrats immediately said the bills would likely not pass their chamber.