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 Budget Update as of Thursday, Oct. 1, at 12:30 p.m.

Interim Budget Passed

Review of the last night's budget work

The House remained in lockdown working past the midnight deadline, to compromise on the steep cuts passed in the conference reports for the revenue sharing budget and K-12 funding.  Meanwhile, the Senate failed to give final approval to their continuation budget before midnight.  Instead, they waited until after 1 a.m. to their extension to ensure state government continued operating.

 Earlier in the day, the House agreed to and passed the Senate's continuation version of the budget, containing steep cuts across the board.  This was a sign of good faith, in case negotiations continued past midnight.

The House finished up work after 1 a.m. by passing the Revenue Sharing budget, at the originally agreed to levels.  The House also passed an extension of current K-12 levels to ensure fiscal stability.

The General Government budget contained significant cuts to cities and townships, at an average of 11%.  Those cuts truly would have had an impact on the ability of Pontiac and Auburn Hills to deliver local services to residents (such as police and fire).  That's why I passed separate supplemental bill that restores the majority of the funding to Pontiac and Auburn Hills.  The supplemental would get Pontiac over a million dollars more than the original cut in the Senate bill.  Auburn Hill would receive an additional hundred thousand dollars as well.

Passage of a continuation budget does not dispel the urgency to have a complete package of budgets for the 09-10 Fiscal Year.  The legislature will be working continuously to solve any points of difference that remain unresolved.  As with all the other budgets, members of House will come to agreements, and pass bi-partisan compromises.