Michigan lawmakers went home without passing a new budget for K-12 schools Thursday night. That’s despite, both meeting for hours and a statutory July 1 deadline for getting an entire state budget done.

It appears part of the holdup is how to handle earmarks for programs like free school lunches or mental health services. The Democratic-led Senate wants them maintained while the Republican-controlled House of Representatives wants to cut them in favor of giving districts more money per student.

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) is also trying to get a road funding plan passed alongside the school budget.

Hall spoke to reporters Thursday night after spending hours negotiating with Senate leadership, the governor, and their teams. He said the leaders were leaving with “a roadmap” that will help them get a deal done next week.

“The House Republicans are committed to working through the weekend, working tomorrow, and working more tonight. Working over the weekend with our goal of still trying to get something done on roads and education by July 1,” Hall said.

Hall said he believed his Democratic counterparts worked better with added pressure from that deadline. He claimed the Senate adding more session days to its calendar for next week as a win.

The Senate had planned to take the first two weeks of July off.

All sides of the negotiating table say they’re optimistic about getting something done, acknowledging it would be difficult.

Reporters caught State Budget Director Jen Flood leaving the governor’s office at the state Capitol Thursday night. She said negotiators were “having great conversations,” when pressed for a comment.

Democrats, however, are still frustrated by the time crunch. They accuse House Republicans of delaying the process by waiting until a couple weeks ago to release their school budget proposal.

Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

“We are seeing a budget process that normally takes months to play out, playing out within a span of four to five days,” Farhat said. “We shouldn’t be in this spot right now where we’re five days before the [statutory] deadline contemplating whether or not we’ll have this budget. So school districts don’t have to keep wondering and teachers don’t have to keep wondering if they’re going to be pink slipped or not.”

Hall said he and House Republicans have been vocal about wanting to keep to the July 1 deadline for months. Democrats have as well, though some have raised doubts in recent weeks about that feasibility without having a complete budget proposal from the House.

The odds of passing a full state budget next week are dim.

It has been an eventful year in Michigan politics with the Michigan Legislature dynamically evolving. This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Services’ Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben analyze the major events in a live recording at the Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale.

They were joined by Detroit Free Press Politics Editor Emily Lawler and
Politics Editor for The Detroit News, Chad Livengood.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Whether the Michigan Legislature will make its July 1 deadline
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her approach to working with President Donald Trump
• How Michigan compares on the national stage in 2025

There has been a major sea change in Michigan politics this year.

With Republicans taking over the state House, President Donald Trump back in the White House, and Democrats maintaining their majority in the state Senate — their is a new dynamic in the state capitol.

“This is the first time that I’ve covered one chamber in Democratic control and one in Republican control,” Lawler said. “…It’s been just an interesting dynamic to watch and sort of see what the chambers are teeing up for each other and what of those things they actually expect to move — which I think is a smaller pool than I initially anticipated.”

Livengood called the current relationship between the chambers a “legislative Red Rover.”

“Getting the actual votes on some of these big issues, like roads, is going to be the real test,” he said.

Kasben pointed out that the Legislature was able to compromise on major legislative efforts like paid sick leave and minimum wage packages in February.

They also talked about the notable shift in how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has navigated national political dynamics this year, and specifically her relationship with President Trump.

Despite their fraught history, the pair have taken a friendlier tone towards each other in recent months, as they discuss future plans and initiatives for the state of Michigan.

“She’s engaged with him on things that she’s wanted to get done, and I’m not sure that all of those will get done, but certainly Selfridge Air Force Base — the upgrades coming there, the new mission coming there — is significant, that’s something that Michigan has wanted for years,” Lawler said.

But Lawler also noted that Trump isn’t someone Whitmer can rely on politically, pointing to recent discussions about pardoning some of the individuals convicted for conspiring to kidnap her.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• MichMash: Live in Lansing!
• Whitmer ‘not happy’ about possible pardons for men involved in her kidnapping plot
• Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall says education budgets could be done by July 1

The July 1 deadline for the Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to have a budget deal wrapped up arrives in just over a week and the House and Senate don’t appear to be close.

The House has yet to adopt its version of a budget package. But Republican House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has proposed a stop-gap budget and called Democrats “not serious” about getting a budget done. Hall said this week he has hopes of getting education budgets out of the House soon, although earlier he suggested the House isn’t bound by hard budget deadlines.

In his weekly press conference Wednesday, Hall accused Democrats of not being serious about the budget.

“I’ve never had confidence that the Democrats, because of the people we’re working with, and you look at the quotes, that we’re going to get something done by July 1,” he said. “But I’ve always told people I’ll work in good faith to do it on some of them.”

The House did adopt a higher education budget last week with big reductions to state funding for the University of Michigan and Michigan State University while other public universities would get boosts. The House also adopted a school aid budget this past week. Both are a month behind the Senate’s actions on budgets. The House has yet to approve its versions of budget bills for state departments and agencies. That spending does interact with school, community college and university budgets in some areas.

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said Thursday that Hall is single-handedly driving the state toward a budget crisis. She said it’s not reasonable to expect the Senate to rubber stamp House-adopted budgets on arrival.

“By its very nature, it must be negotiated by the House and the Senate and the governor, so it’s incredibly irresponsible to wait until the last minute,” she told the Michigan Public Radio Network. ” At the end of the day, this is very Trump-like behavior to cause a crisis and then to come in at the last second and pretend that they’re being heroic and pretend that it’s somebody else’s fault that it doesn’t get done.”

Local governments, community colleges, public universities and K-12 schools all have fiscal years that begin July 1. There is a state law that requires the Legislature to have their budgets wrapped up by then, but there are no specific consequences for missing that deadline.

The state’s fiscal year begins October 1. 

As the July 1 deadline approaches, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled and passed a budget for K-12 schools. In this week’s episode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss what’s inside the proposal and the next steps.

Plus, former Lieutenant Governor of Michigan and President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, Brian Calley, joins the show to talk about the state of small businesses in Michigan and the insurance cost crisis.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• How are insurance costs affecting small businesses?
• What’s in the K-12 budget that Michigan House Republicans just passed?
• What direction is the Michigan Small Business Association leaning during this major election year?

Calley said the cost of healthcare has been taking a major toll on small business owners.

“Four out of five of business owners tell us it’s getting in the way of expanding the business. Three out of four said it’s an impediment to hiring,” he said. “As you look at the overall economic performance of the state, there are subtle changes that could be damaging over time”.

He said the increased cost is coming from health systems and pharmaceuticals.

Hear the full episode on all major podcast platforms.

So-called “ghost guns” could become illegal in Michigan under new bills in the state House.

Those are firearms often 3D printed or assembled in kits that don’t have serial numbers, making them very hard for law enforcement to track.

One bill in the package would require owners of existing ghost guns to get them serialized within 18 months. Anyone who builds a firearm, unfinished frame, or receiver at home would have 10 days after finishing their project to get it serialized.

Bill sponsor state Rep. Morgan Foreman (D-Pittsfield Twp) said it’s a public safety issue more than it is a Second Amendment issue.

“No one needs an untraceable ghost gun. These weapons are designed to avoid detection, responsibility, and justice. These are tools for people who intend to do harm and get away with it,” Foreman said during a press conference Wednesday.

But critics of the bills say they don’t believe there’s a need for them.

Representative Phil Green (R-Millington) chairs the Michigan legislative Second Amendment Caucus. Green said it’d be better to have tougher enforcement of existing laws.

“We’re dealing with situations where we’re outlawing basically possession of something and then if they do something wrong, now there’s three or more crimes that you’ve committed. How about we just deal with what you did wrong?” Green said.

Under the legislation, building, selling, or having a firearm, frame, or receiver without a serial number would become a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Democrats introduced similar bills last term when their party controlled the entire legislative process but failed to pass. The bills are likely to have a tougher time now that Republicans run the House again.

Similar legislation in the Democratic-controlled Michigan Senate, however, is scheduled for a committee hearing in that chamber Thursday at noon.

A Republican lawmaker in the Michigan House is introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

The articles accuse Benson, a Democrat, of exceeding her authority, failing to secure elections, and not being transparent.

State Representative Jim DeSana (R-Carleton) said the effort is about holding Benson accountable.

“Her job is to run the Secretary of State’s office and to run elections. We make the law that determine[s] what is the authority over the election. She cannot make that law,” DeSana said during a press conference Tuesday morning.

DeSana laid out several complaints against Benson, including a decision to talk to reporters inside the lobby of a state office building while announcing her gubernatorial campaign. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office found that was likely a campaign finance law violation but said she didn’t have the authority to pursue the matter any further.

Benson had said it wasn’t an improper use of state resources since she said other candidates were welcome to use the lobby as well.

The impeachment resolution also makes multiple references to Benson’s handling of the 2020 presidential election. Dozens of audits since have confirmed President Donald Trump’s loss to former President Joe Biden.

In a written statement, Benson derided the impeachment threat.

“I believe in oversight and I believe in transparency. This isn’t it.

“This is Republican lawmakers abusing their authority to access sensitive election information that would allow them — or any conspiracy theorists they share it with – to tamper with election equipment, interfere with the chain of custody of ballots, or impersonate a clerk on Election Day.

“I continue to call on Speaker Hall and his caucus to work with us and a judicial mediator to help us reach a resolution to this matter.

“But let’s be clear: this clown show he is leading is no way to govern. It is not how we solve problems. It is not how we make government work for everyone. And every taxpayer dollar wasted on these shenanigans is a waste of time and money.

“I remain committed to the security of our elections and to the people of Michigan. I work for them. I suggest the House Republicans start doing the same,” a press release from Benson in her capacity as secretary of state said.

Last month, House Republicans voted to censure her for not fully complying with records requests from the House Oversight Committee.

Those efforts seem to be where House Republican leadership is focused instead of the impeachment resolution.

Gideon D’Assandro is spokesperson for House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp).

“Speaker Hall is working with Oversight Committee to enforce the House’s subpoena against Benson and finalizing a budget plan that will hold her department accountable for its many failures,” D’Assandro said in a text message.

Meanwhile, Democratic leadership in the House minority are calling the entire Benson saga a distraction from meaningful issues like passing a new state budget.

“We’ve talked about, at length, about everything that’s at stake right now. What’s coming our way from the federal government and the budget that’s being done in D.C., and that should be our singular focus right now,” Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) said.

Northern Michigan school districts forced into an extended shutdown due to massive ice storms this spring will have a waiver from attendance mandates under a law signed Monday by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“Many Michigan families are still reeling from the effects of the ice storms that devastated northern Michigan earlier this year,” said Whitmer in a statement released by her office. “I’ve been committed to supporting recovery efforts, protecting Michigan families from additional disruptions to their daily routines. That’s why I’m proud to sign this bill that will remove unnecessary penalties and obstacles for students and schools who are just trying to get by.”

This is one of several storm recovery bills sent by the Legislature to Whitmer’s desk with wide bipartisan support. This measure means school districts will not have to choose between losing state funding or forcing students and staff to stay in school into the heat of summer. That would have added unplanned utility costs as well as the expenses of paying staff salaries and for transportation.

“Had we not passed this legislation, the financial burden to our schools would have been yet another blow to our communities that have already been struggling following the disastrous ice storm,” said Senator John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs).

The ice storms in late March left many districts unable to meet the state’s 180-day school day requirement without extending the school year. The new law allows forgiveness of up to 15 days from the state’s mandated instruction time.

Schools in a dozen counties were forced to close due to ice-covered roads, power outages and other storm-related damage. The waiver applies to schools in counties covered by Governor Whitmer’s ice storm emergency decree. Whitmer has also asked for federal storm recovery assistance. 

The annual Mackinac Policy Conference has wrapped up for 2025. In this episode of MichMash, reporter Elena Durnbaugh joins Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben from Mackinac Island to recap this year’s conference.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Budget negotiations during the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reactions to the Trump administration’s pardon considerations
• 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference themes

Durnbaugh shared that both Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and Republican Speaker Matt Hall publicly criticized each other at the conference over budget negotations. She also shared that after speaking with Speaker Hall, it appeared that the budget wouldn’t be passed until after the July 1 deadline.

“Conversations of the budget are happening, just not between the leaders of the Senate and the House,” she said. 

Durnbaugh also noted the most important conversations seemed to be happening off the stage.

More from WDET:

• Detroit Evening Report: The Mackinac Policy Conference is underway
• Whitmer ‘not happy’ about possible pardons for men involved in her kidnapping plot
• Critics: Medicaid cuts in House GOP budget plan will burden Michigan health system