Governor Whitmer Agrees Deal is Priority

According to the Detroit Free Press, the governor and legislative leaders agreed over the weekend to make finishing the 2020 budget their first priority, even if it means a road funding deal is not reached before Oct. 1.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer had said repeatedly she would not sign a budget that did not include a realistic plan that includes close to $2 billion in extra spending for roads, but Monday's announcement points to a significant change in that position.

The state faces a partial budget shutdown if a budget for the coming year is not signed into law by Oct. 1.

On Friday, Republican legislative leaders said they planned to start finalizing the budget without a plan to raise significant new money for roads.

They had rejected Whitmer's plan to increase gas taxes by 45 cents a gallon and Whitmer said they had not offered a realistic counter proposal that did not put teacher pension funds at risk as a way of increasing transportation revenues.