MEA Votes

At a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club on Monday, Speaker of the House Andy Dillon (D-Redford Township) and Sen. Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) seemed on the same page about budget cuts, but not about the new revenue that would make those cuts palatable.

The two legislative leaders told the club's members that they expect to act on several budget bills by the end of the week—and plan to have the entire budget on the governor’s desk before the September 30 deadline.

At this point, it looks like the budget will feature massive cuts, including cuts to education.

Dillon acknowledges that getting the rest of the House to sign on to $1.2 billion cuts that he agreed to won’t be easy, specifically citing cuts to Community Health, Human Services and revenue sharing as problematic.

Curiously, Dillon told the crowd of 150 that he would protect “life-and-death things like nursing homes, police and fire” but that “maybe the education things are more discretionary, even though they are our future.”

As for Dillon’s idea that “revenue enhancement bills” could soften the budget blows, Bishop said it wasn’t likely and that his members would vote against any tax increase that appears in the Senate.

Hear both of their comments for yourself on the WWJ web site -- Part I & Part II.