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Snyder: Budget deal 'very close'; Detroit News
Topic Started: May 19 2011, 08:54 AM (328 Views)
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Snyder: Budget deal 'very close'
Paul Egan / / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Lansing — Gov. Rick Snyder said this afternoon he and legislative leaders are "very close" to an agreement on a state budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

"There's still work to be done, but we're moving in a very positive direction," Snyder told reporters during a break from one of the meetings shortly before 4 p.m.

"One of the things that's important to me is doing this in a fiscally responsible way," he said "We have a history in Michigan of having times somewhat improve and then not fixing the structural issues that we face."

Snyder, who wouldn't comment on specifics of the budget deal, has been meeting today not just with Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and House Speaker Jase Bolger, but also with Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer and House Minority Leader Richard Hammel, spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said. Meetings might continue into Thursday, she said.

State officials agreed this week Michigan will have more than $400 million more revenue than anticipated this year, spurring calls to restore budget cuts made to education and other programs.

Ari Adler, a spokesman for Bolger, said earlier today a framework is in place for a budget agreement that would reduce to about $100 per student the $300 per student cut for K-12 education Snyder recommended in his February budget.

Adler said details need to be worked out, but GOP lawmakers and the governor's office have agreed to put about another $310 million into K-12 education after recent revenue estimates show the state with more tax revenues than earlier anticipated.

But the additional money would be one-time funding with strings attached, Adler said.

He said school districts could reduce the proposed cut by $100 per pupil by agreeing to "best practices" such as bringing the percentage of health insurance premiums employees pay to a certain level, such as 20 percent. Details on the "best practices" that will be tied to the extra funding need to be worked out, he said.

The other additional state allocation of $100 per student would go directly into the school employee retirement system to reduce long-term liabilities, Adler said.

Snyder said the Legislature is on track to finalize the budget by his May 31 deadline, months ahead of the recent norm.

Bolger, R-Marshall, went into the negotiations with the view he would not put more money toward paying for the status quo, Adler said.

"The schools have been saying they need more money, but we've got taxpayers saying, 'You've got to be fiscally responsible,' " he said.

Any cuts to K-12 education are on top of a $170 per student cut that's already on the books.

Katie Carey, a spokesman for Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said, "Senate Democrats are pleased that the cuts to schools are being mitigated," but remain opposed to using a surplus in the School Aid Fund to help pay for a business tax cut of nearly $1.8 billion.

Whitmer believes the amount of the reduced cut is close to what was informally agreed to by GOP Senate leadership when the revenue piece of the budget was approved, she said.

The tax piece of Snyder's budget is approved and awaits his signature.

Michigan lawmakers are working this week in conference committees to resolve the differences between their various proposals on the spending side of the budget.

Nothing has been finalized that would change cuts to higher education funding that are proposed to be in the 15 percent range, Adler said. The amounts universities will receive is under discussion, as is a controversial House amendment that would financially penalize universities that provide health care benefits to unrelated housemates of university employees, he said.

Snyder's budget recommended no cuts to community college funding. The budget passed by the House included a 15 percent cut to community colleges; the Senate version calls for a much smaller cut.

pegan@detnews.com

(517) 371-3660



From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110518/POLITICS02/105180379/Snyder--Budget-deal-‘very-close’#ixzz1MnoTKmRY
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