State budget nears completion detnews.com The Detroit News:
"Lansing -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm intends today to sign the final six budget bills, which are most contentious and likely to include line-item vetoes.
One line that won't be vetoed in the higher education budget is for agricultural extension and experiment station programs. Granholm and Michigan State University officials struck a deal announced Thursday that continues funding for those programs and changes their focus to support the green economy."
The budgets awaiting the governor's approval cover higher education, State Police, human services, community health, general government and energy, labor and economic growth. The bills include steep cuts to programs and services including Promise Grants for college students, Medicaid and revenue sharing to help local governments pay for police and fire service. Granholm wielded her veto pen on earlier bills, the most significant one slashing from the school aid budget $52 million in funding for the state's highest spending school districts. Matt Marsden, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said Granholm can veto what she wants out of the final six bills, but it won't force Republicans to raise taxes.
"If she chooses to use the veto to cut further, we've made it clear she's within her right to do that -- but we've also been clear we have no intention of passing tax increases to fund her line items," Marsden said. "Any additional veto cuts will result in unfunded lines and we'll consider that to be savings for the next fiscal year."
"Lansing -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm intends today to sign the final six budget bills, which are most contentious and likely to include line-item vetoes.
One line that won't be vetoed in the higher education budget is for agricultural extension and experiment station programs. Granholm and Michigan State University officials struck a deal announced Thursday that continues funding for those programs and changes their focus to support the green economy."
The budgets awaiting the governor's approval cover higher education, State Police, human services, community health, general government and energy, labor and economic growth. The bills include steep cuts to programs and services including Promise Grants for college students, Medicaid and revenue sharing to help local governments pay for police and fire service. Granholm wielded her veto pen on earlier bills, the most significant one slashing from the school aid budget $52 million in funding for the state's highest spending school districts. Matt Marsden, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said Granholm can veto what she wants out of the final six bills, but it won't force Republicans to raise taxes.
"If she chooses to use the veto to cut further, we've made it clear she's within her right to do that -- but we've also been clear we have no intention of passing tax increases to fund her line items," Marsden said. "Any additional veto cuts will result in unfunded lines and we'll consider that to be savings for the next fiscal year."
