Wortz calls out Democrat legislative leadership for walking out on budget negotiations

LANSING, MI (WTVB) -State Rep. Jennifer Wortz (R-Quincy) is calling out Democrat leadership in the Michigan Senate for adjourning session and leaving Lansing early on during the day of Michigan’s statutory budget deadline. Their decision to walk out on the final day of budget negotiations effectively doomed any effort to pass a budget by the deadline.

“House Republicans made every effort to get a deal done in time, staying late into the evening trying to get a compromise sorted out the day it was due,” Wortz said. “Unfortunately, Senate Democrats evidently had no commitment to resolving a budget deal and left hours before the deadline. They let down their constituencies, their colleagues, and all of our school districts across the state who were depending on them to help pass a budget.”

While the current fiscal year for the Michigan state government does not end until September 30^th, state statute instructs the Legislature to pass a budget for the next fiscal year by July 1^st. This earlier budget deadline reduces the risk of a government shutdown.

It also allows school districts to know what funding will be available to them as they craft their own budgets for the upcoming school year. By abandoning any attempt to pass a school aid budget by July 1^st, Senate Democrats will likely force school districts to put together overly conservative budgets without any certainty of what funds will be available to them.

“Michigan ranks in the bottom ten for educational performance in the whole country, and we cannot possibly hope to improve if we do not give schools the tools they need to succeed,” Wortz said. “Under Republican leadership, the Michigan House has passed legislation implementing phonics-based reading standards, record amounts of per pupil funding, increased funding for school resource officers and mental health services, and improvements to teacher education and certification. All these important, common-sense proposals sit in the Senate. While we wait on Democrat leadership to take up these critical pieces of legislation, they show no urgency in getting any work done for our schools.”

This will be one of the many topics Wortz will be available to discuss at the Hope Cafe in Coldwater Tuesday morning, during Coffee, Community and Conversation along with State Senator Jonathon Lindsey.