Michigan lawmakers approve measure to fund state government for 1 week

Craig Mauger and Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News on Oct 1, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan lawmakers approved a bill early Wednesday morning to fund state government's operations for one additional week, after their push to pass a new annual budget temporarily faltered inside the state Capitol.

The one-week measure that lawmakers signed off on at about 2 a.m. amounted to $1.5 billion in spending, will keep state workers on the job until Oct. 8 and will give the House and Senate seven more days to come up with a longer-term plan to fund schools, departments and road construction.

For months, the Republicans who hold a majority in the House and the Democrats who lead the Senate have struggled to reach a compromise on a new budget and have disagreed on potential cuts in spending and how to come up with more money for road projects.

At about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said she believes the leaders of the Legislature had a long-term budget deal that will still be able to get the needed votes to become law. That agreement involves a new 24% tax on wholesale marijuana and shifting all taxes paid on gasoline to roads.

"The people of Michigan can still get what they need from their government for the next week despite this minor delay," Brinks told reporters.

The Senate adjourned at about 1:35 a.m. and will return at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The Senate voted 31-2 in favor of the one-week spending bill. Two Republicans, Sens. Jonathan Lindsey of Coldwater and Jim Runestad of White Lake, cast the dissenting votes.

The House voted 103-4 to adopt the bill at 1:48 a.m. Wednesday. Four Republicans, Reps. Steve Carra of Three Rivers, Jim DeSana of Carleton, Jaime Greene of Richmond and Tom Kunse of Clare, voted against the measure

House Majority Floor Leader Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, said the House is unlikely to vote on the final budget bill until Thursday.

“The budget is done and agreed upon,” Posthumus said. “And this is the process: A couple days to draft it; we expect to be able to vote, hopefully sometime Thursday; couple days to get it to presented to the governor; and three days for a review to take place.”

House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, said the one-week spending bill provides state agencies and employees some short-term certainty.

“Because in a process without uncertainty, it’s causing a lot of havoc for our state here," he said.

Wednesday brought Oct. 1, the start of a new fiscal year for Michigan's government. Normally, most state operations would shut down without a budget in place. However, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had announced plans to keep state departments going and state workers on the job without approved funding.

Less than seven hours before the state's midnight deadline, Brinks, Whitmer and House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, issued a press release, saying the Legislature will pass a "full budget this week" and government "will run as normal" in the meantime.

"Tomorrow, state government will continue, and work will go on in the Legislature to finalize a balanced, bipartisan state budget this week," Whitmer said in a Tuesday statement. "We’re on the verge of making huge progress to fix our state and local roads, feed our kids at school, cut taxes for seniors and working families, protect access to affordable health care and keep Michiganders safe in their communities."

Whitmer, Hall and Brinks put out a similar statement last week saying they had agreed to pass a budget by Oct. 1 — a vow they didn't fulfill.

Longtime lawmakers, including Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, were baffled by the events unfolding in the state Capitol on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, including the initial temporary plan to keep state government going without a budget.

"I’ve never seen anything like this," said Daley, a few minutes after midnight.

An email from the governor to state workers Tuesday afternoon indicated state parks and Secretary of State offices would remain open, lottery sales would continue and state workers would avoid layoffs. All of those outcomes have previously been tied to the Legislature failing to meet its annual budget deadline.

"We have an agreement with the House and Senate to pass a full fiscal year budget," Whitmer said in her message. "All state government operations will continue as normal on October 1 and in the coming days as it is finalized."

The message from Whitmer added that state workers "will get paid."

Some public school leaders across Michigan have said their districts won't offer universal free breakfast and lunch for students on Wednesday if a state budget isn't in place to fund the meals.

-------------