LANSING, Mich. — Democrats are expected to move toward passing a new state budget Thursday, which comes a day after Republicans started introducing their own bills Tuesday.
The goal is to make a deal with Governor Gretchen Whitmer after she vetoed nearly $1 billion in spending from the budget passed in late September.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey of Jackson County has talked about holding a veto-override vote, but it's not clear if he has the 26-votes necessary to pass it. Until then, lawmakers from both parties say they're working to find a compromise.
"These are too important. These are basic things that we need for the state of Michigan instead of things that may or may not get in," Republican Representative Graham Filler of DeWitt said.
Filler said the spending Gov. Whitmer vetoed is too important to leave out.
"Things like funding sheriffs, funding charter schools, funding rural hospitals, those are things that we really feel are important and so we put them in the supplemental and hopefully they'll end up back in the budget," Filler said.
Democrat Julie Brixie of Meridian Township agrees-- even if she has different priorities when it comes to what vetoes she wants reversed and which parts of the original budget she wants changed.
"It fails to address our roads, they're in terrible shape, it fails to address the skyrocketing tuition prices for higher education and fails to address the declining literacy scores that we have here in Michigan," Brixie said.
The governor used her line-item veto to wipe out the nearly $1 billion in spending because she wasn't happy with the budget passed by the Republican-controlled legislature.
Her office said she's willing to negotiate, but she's demanding lawmakers get serious about the roads.
Brixie thinks there is a bipartisan way to get that done and put the budget to rest.
"I'm confident, I'm committed to working with the other side and I'm confident that my colleagues are also," Brixie said.
Senator Curtis Hertel Junior of East Lansing will announce the Democrats' supplemental spending bill on Thursday.
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