LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature’s Republican leaders return to bargaining this week.
They’re looking for a compromise that would restore some line items the governor vetoed in the current budget.
Money for rural road patrols, bus stop safety, and labor and delivery care for mothers and infants are among the funds that could be lost unless the governor and GOP leaders can reach a deal. The line-item vetoes struck the funds from the budget that’s been in effect for two weeks.
Gilda Jacobs is with the Michigan League for Public Policy, an advocacy group for human services. She says time is growing short before the effects of the vetoes become real.
“If we want to see our schools better, and hospitals and health services, and infrastructure attended to, we have to do something about it,” she says.
Jacobs says she hopes a budget deal will include new revenue. Republican leaders say their first step is to re-prioritize existing funds.