LANSING – House Speaker Andy Dillon and other top House Democrats may have cut a budget deal with Senate Republicans, but rank-and-file Democratic representatives voiced growing concern Thursday against the substance of the deal and the possibility of getting enough votes to pass it.
House Democrats met behind closed doors for two hours on the budget, which contains $1.279 billion in reductions to programs from general and restricted funds, as well as $412.7 million from the School Aid Fund.
Among the hits: $200 million less in general fund money for the Department of Community Health than in the revised recommendation issued last week by Governor Jennifer Granholm, elimination of the Promise Grant college scholarship, $163.4 million less for revenue sharing and a big enough hit to the Department of Corrections that officials there said could lead to three more prison closures.
“We are all extremely concerned how deep these cuts go,” said caucus chair Rep. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) when asked after the caucus about Democrats’ mood. “They’ll take these people out of nursing homes and put then on the street.”
As Democrats tried to come to grips with the budget plan signed by Mr. Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester), other developments came in waves.
Granholm huddled behind closed doors with Senate Democrats and later strongly criticized the deal and there were increasing signals she might veto parts of the budget should it reach her desk. Senate Democrats offered revenue proposals to preserve some spending. And interest groups, stunned that the possibility of an all-cuts scenario becoming real, mobilized in an effort to persuade House Democrats and Granholm to block the plan.
Dillon and Bishop named conference committee members for the budget bills and some conference committees issued notices of meetings for Monday and Tuesday.
With conference committee members announced, lawmakers will take the next several days to work behind the scenes and see if agreements can be made on which programs to cut and which services to reduce.
Work is expected to go into the weekend and legislative leaders have asked conference committees to be done by Tuesday evening.
Dillon said he’s instructed budget chairs to look at what savings can be found in the vendor contracts for each department.
Asked what additional savings he expects to get from that move, given that the governor has asked vendors for 5 to 10 percent cost reductions, Dillon said the program can be accelerated.
Dillon said his members “know next week is going to be a challenging week,” but he hopes to be done with the budget by September 25.
He said the caucus will continue to fight to preserve its priorities in police and fire, health care, early education and college scholarships. If lawmakers still have a shortfall between available revenue and the programs they want to fund, Dillon said it would be addressed at that time.
But the gaps in agreement lawmakers hope to reach over those programs are the same disputes that have raged for months.
Some Democrats expressed concern that some of the Senate cuts proposed would literally put Michigan residents out on the streets.
“Where do they go?” said Rep. Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard), chair of the Community Health budget subcommittee, of people and providers relying on state support.
He worried nursing homes, community mental health and other health care providers are already “just hanging on.”
“I will make a good faith effort (to cut). I will need a contingency plan,” McDowell said. “We need more revenue.”
While most of the state’s federal stimulus funds are coming in the form of increased matching dollars for Medicaid, McDowell said much of that has been proposed to plug other budget holes.
Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.), chair of the corrections budget, said of her $78 million in cuts, “I can’t get $28 (million) in cuts.”
She said she would propose changing the state’s truth-in-sentencing laws in order to cut the number of prisoners and save money, but she was certain Senate Republicans would reject that approach.
“And then we’ll have a $50 million hole,” Smith said.
Still, contingency plans are falling into place.
Four House Democrats, including Appropriations chair Rep. George Cushingberry Jr. (D-Detroit), introduced vehicle bills Thursday that could raise established taxes and institute new ones.
While emotions are running high, there were some bright spots.
For instance, both the Legislature and governor have agreed on the same spending level for the state’s 28 community colleges, so the budget will likely sale through conference committee. Budget chair Rep. Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) said the colleges aren’t being cut because they play such a vital role to the state’s economic recovery.
“Everybody loves community colleges,” he said.
Of the possible doubt among Democrats, Bishop spokesperson Matt Marsden said Bishop trusts that Dillon “will be able to deliver what he needs to deliver to get this accomplished.”
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