- The Michigan House Thursday failed to advance an effort to cut pay for the governor and lawmakers if they did not meet a July budget deadline
- The proposal would have suspended pay, giving it back to politicians in full once the state budget is passed
- The July 1 statutory deadline currently has no punishment for missing it. State government will shut down without a budget by Oct. 1
LANSING — As a potential government shutdown looms, Michigan lawmakers are debating whether to temporarily strip their own pay — or that of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — if they fail to meet budget deadlines.
The state House on Thursday considered, but ultimately rejected, a resolution asking voters to amend the Michigan Constitution to suspend salaries for the governor and legislators if there is not a budget in place by July 1.
That’s the statutory deadline by which lawmakers are supposed to pass a state budget, though there’s no punishment for failing to meet it. Failure to pass a budget by Oct. 1 would trigger a state government shutdown.
Thursday’s proposal would not have affected officials’ pay this year — they already missed the July 1 deadline — but legislative leaders from both parties have said pay deductions are an idea worth exploring as they continue to point fingers at each other for stalled negotiations.
Senate Democratic Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, told reporters Wednesday that there was “a strong willingness to consider” the idea of suspending lawmaker pay in the event of a government shutdown this fall.
“I think there’s strong support for the concept … we’re more than happy to consider that,” she said.
Related:
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- Michigan schools returning without state budget, warning free meals may not last
- Report: ‘Big, beautiful bill’ will blow $1.1 billion hole in Michigan budget
Brinks did not specifically address whether she’d also support suspending pay for missing the July 1 deadline in future years.
A majority of state House members on Thursday voted for a plan to do so, but the joint resolution required two-thirds support to advance and failed in a 70-30 vote amid opposition from several Democrats. House Republicans who proposed the joint resolution were short four votes.
“I think the people of Michigan would be very frustrated to know that these politicians want to keep their pay and not get a budget done,” House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, told reporters following session.
Yet, even if the resolution did pass the House, it was unlikely to jump-start stagnant negotiations this year.
Officials already missed the July 1 deadline written into state law, and even if the resolution was adopted, it would need voter approval and would not have appeared on the ballot until 2026.
After the failed vote, House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, said he had an issue with punishing rank-and-file members by stripping their pay for the outcome of budget negotiations that are ultimately led by legislative leaders and the governor.
“If there is a large portion of the body that’s obstructing the budget from getting done, then yeah, that’s how accountability should happen,” Puri said. “But it shouldn’t happen on the whims of one person not doing his job and so then all of the institution has to suffer.”
The July 1 budget deadline was put into place in 2019 during former Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration in an effort to align with when the fiscal year begins for Michigan schools. But there are no penalties for missing it — beyond complaints from school officials now facing state funding uncertainty.
Sponsoring Rep. Jamie Thompson, R-Brownstown Township, said in a floor speech that the point of her resolution was to finally give teeth to the July 1 deadline written into law, stating: “If there’s a delay, there’s no pay.”
House Republicans, who control the chamber, approved a handful of education-related budgets earlier this year but have not yet introduced a completed state budget.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, passed an $84.5 billion budget in May but would need to make roughly $1.1 billion in cuts to balance it after officials lowered projected tax revenues.
Whitmer — who released her own $84 billion budget plan in February — has also repeatedly stressed that she does not think the Michigan budget will be done without somehow finding an extra $3 billion to fix state roads.
Both Whitmer and House Republicans have released road funding plans. Senate Democrats have not offered a counterproposal but argued Wednesday that more plans are not needed, just more face-to-face negotiations.
State Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, told reporters ahead of Thursday’s pay suspension vote that he agreed with the idea of withholding pay for failing to pass a state budget in spirit. But he said lawmakers should be fined based on a percentage of their net worth — not lose their salary entirely — to make the punishment more equitable across all lawmakers.
Michigan legislators generally earn $71,685 a year, but those in leadership positions earn more. Hall, the House Speaker, earns $95,985. Puri, the Democratic Minority Leader, makes $91,485.
“Withholding my pay, as someone who’s a teacher and working class person, is not the same as for someone who’s a millionaire,” Wegela said before ultimately voting against the joint resolution.
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