What is there a possibility of a Michigan government shutdown?
Michigan lawmakers adopted a continuation budget to end the state’s second shutdown in three years. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the 30-day budget early Thursday morning. The move ends temporary worker layoffs and office closures from a near two-hour state shutdown after lawmakers in Lansing could not agree on a budget by midnight, according to the Detroit Free Press. The continuation budget will fund Michigan’s government and public schools. Lawmakers will use that time to agree upon whether to “cut spending, use federal stimulus money or raise taxes” in the permanent state budget that seeks to erase a $2.8-billion shortfall for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which started today. Michigan Promise Grant scholarships for more than 90,000 college students seem “nearly certain” for cuts, according to the New York Times. But Granholm said in a prepared statement that she “has rejected Senate Republican cuts that eliminate college scholarships for over 50,000 Michigan students.” Accor
LANSING – In an address to the state Thursday evening, featured as this week’s special edition radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm cited progress in recent budget negotiations and said that she remains committed to working with lawmakers to avert a partial shutdown of state government. Negotiations are expected to be ongoing until a comprehensive budget agreement is reached. In the absence of an agreement, a partial shutdown of the government will take place effective at midnight on Sunday, September 30. “While the first steps to a government shutdown are now being taken, I will work around the clock to reach that solution,” Granholm said. “I am asking you, my fellow citizens, to urge your lawmakers to have the courage to compromise, to put their loyalty to Michigan before their loyalty to party.” The governor’s weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state. The address is available on the governor’s Web site (www.
Michigan’s colleges and universities, already down millions in deferred state payments, are facing an incredibly uncertain fiscal climate. As legislators in Lansing bicker over a $1.75 billion statewide deficit, the threat of a government shutdown starting on Monday looms. And college leaders aren’t only looking forward with nervousness, they’re likewise looking anxiously back — to ensure the restoration of about $138.7 million included in last year’s appropriation for universities, and $25.8 million for community colleges, delayed because of the budget crunch until the start of the new fiscal year October 1. Sources: http://www.insidehighered.
