Governor and Legislative Leaders Working on Finding Budget Common Ground

Liz Gullett

Governor and Legislative Leaders Working on Finding Budget Common Ground

Oct 11, 2019

In response to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s line-item vetoes in the budget, Republican members in the House and Senate introduced legislation this week that would reinstate funding for some of those items. Twenty-three nearly identical supplemental appropriations bills were introduced in each chamber, which would restore over a quarter-million dollars in vetoed funding. Each bill would restore funding for one program within the state budget. The bills have been referred to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees for consideration.

Additionally, several budgets that received vetoes from the governor were re-referred to the Appropriations Committees, and some to the chamber’s floor, where they could vote to override Governor Whitmer’s vetoes. However, this would be tricky because two-thirds of members would need to vote to override her veto, meaning some Democratic members would need to join Republicans in voting favorably to override a veto.

On Thursday, Senator Curtis Hertel (D-East Lansing) introduced two bills providing supplemental appropriations, which reflect Governor Whitmer’s budget priorities that were not included in the legislature’s final budgets. The bills also restore funding to a few budget items that were vetoed by the governor.

Negotiations will continue between the governor and House and Senate leadership to come to an agreement on how to spend the funds that Governor Whitmer vetoed from the budgets and inserting her priorities into the discussion.

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