Governor Gretchen Whitmer has again called on Republican leaders to reconvene the Legislature to wrap up work on a new state budget and on a plan to fix the roads.
GOP leaders say there’s no reason for the Legislature to return yet to the state Capitol.
Governor Whitmer is visiting roads and bridges to show their decrepit state, and the urgent need to fix them. That requires money and a new state budget that includes that money. She says that can’t happen if lawmakers are not at the state Capitol.
“It’s time for us to get a real plan together and get it passed and to my desk.”
Whitmer says she has yet to see a Republican alternative to her plan to raise the fuel tax.
Republican leaders say they’re still bargaining with the governor, but there’s still no deal or anything close to a deal, so no reason to call on lawmakers to return.
Neither the governor nor GOP leaders have ruled out a continuation budget if their talks drag into the state’s new fiscal year.