Michigan will temporarily lay off 30,000 government workers if a budget agreement can not be agreed to by October 1, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Michigan’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget (MDTMB) released its plan Friday if the state goes into a partial government shutdown. Construction projects, the state lottery, state parks and the department of transportation are among the different state-run services that would be suspended. Vital roles such as police and emergency responders would keep working.
Kurt Weiss, a spokesperson for MDTMB, told the Lansing State Journal that almost 40 percent of the 49,000 state government workforce would report to work.
The state will send warnings to employees that they face temporarily lay off on September 16. Workers will officially get a notification on September 27. People who work during the possible shutdown will be paid on time while workers laid off temporarily will not, according to Weiss.
“We’ve got a responsibility to Michigan residents and to our state employees to be prepared if the budget is not done, so we have to be ready for all contingencies,” Weiss said in a statement. “We know the Governor is doing everything she can to ensure a responsible budget by September 30, but we need to plan for all possibilities including a government shutdown.”
On Thursday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent a video to government workers telling them that they got their back, according to the Detroit News.
“You’re going to see a lot of things in the news regarding the state budget in the next couple weeks, and I want you to know that during these negotiations, I will always do what’s best for state employees,” she said in the video.
This week negotiations have stalled around how to fix America’s worst-rated roads. Whitmer had decided to put gas tax talks on hold and move forward with budget talks, but the talks stopped Thursday after a compromise could not be reached.
The governor wants to fix the roads by raising $2.5 billion from three separate 15 cents taxes on gas. On the other hand, Republicans want to use $500 million from the direct fund to fix the roads.
Michigan GOP Chairman Laura Cox released a statement following budget negotiation break downs.
“Yet again Governor Whitmer has shown that it’s her way or no highways. Republicans have proposed a budget which will add millions in new road funding without raising taxes. However, Gas Tax Gretchen is refusing to sign a budget that spends ANY money on roads because it means she won’t get her ridiculous highest in the nation 45-cent gas tax increase. Clearly Whitmer cares more about taking Michiganders hard-earned money than she does fixing a single mile of our states ‘damn roads’.”
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox's Statement on Whitmer Walkout pic.twitter.com/13IXQNEDvN
— Michigan GOP (@MIGOP) September 12, 2019
Michigan last had a partial government shutdown 10 years ago.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Battleground State News. Follow Zachery on Twitter.
