September 27, 2007
September 27, 2007
Prepares citizens for partial shutdown of state government
LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm tonight addressed the state and said citizens should expect a partial shutdown of state government, absent any late action by the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House of Representatives to pass a comprehensive budget solution that will prevent massive cuts to public safety, health care, and education.
Granholm announced that while she issued an executive directive late this afternoon instructing Administration officials to begin taking the necessary steps to shut down all non-essential services at midnight this Sunday, she cited progress in recent budget negotiations and remains committed to working with lawmakers to avert the crisis.
"The Constitution is clear," Granholm said in a statewide televised address. "Without a balanced budget in place, state government cannot write a single check. But tonight I am hopeful, because productive negotiations are now underway in my office that could head off this government shutdown while there is still time. We have made significant progress in the last 48 hours, and we have narrowed our differences. I am doing all that I can to achieve a budget agreement, however, there is one thing I will not do. I will not accept a budget that makes massive cuts to education, health care, and public safety."
In outlining the state's $1.75 billion budget crisis, Granholm cited the Legislature's failure to send a balanced budget to her desk in the nearly eight months that have passed since she presented her comprehensive solution to the budget crisis.
"In February, in my State of the State address, I urged state lawmakers to put aside their partisan differences to resolve Michigan's fiscal crisis through a three-part solution. It involved cuts, government reforms, and revenues," Granholm said. "It wasn't a Democratic plan or a Republican plan, it was a Michigan plan."
To resolve the state's fiscal crisis, the governor has said the state would need to cut the budget beyond the deep cuts she made to resolve over four billion dollars in budget deficits during her first term as governor, bring reform to state and local government so that runaway costs would not continue to drain our resources, and raise new revenues to invest in the things that make Michigan competitive in the fight for jobs and new investment.
Granholm said despite her desire to get a budget resolution in time to avert a partial shutdown of state government, she cannot support a continuation budget without a solution.
"In contrast, some Republican leaders in the Legislature said they could solve our almost $2 billion budget deficit with cuts alone. But even their own members refused to go along. Understandably, they couldn't vote to take thousands of police officers off the streets, let class sizes explode in our schools, and to see college tuition rise beyond the reach of Michigan families," Granholm said. "These same leaders have demanded that we adopt a so-called continuation budget so they can have another 30 days to do what the Legislature has failed to do in almost eight months. All a continuation budget does is continue to spend money we don't have. It's not an answer to our fiscal problems, and in fact, it will only make them far worse."
Granholm called on citizens to contact their state lawmakers to encourage a quick resolution of the crisis and said without a budget resolution, specific details of a partial shutdown will be released on Friday.
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