LANSING – Top Michigan state officials meeting Thursday on the 2005-06 budget made some of the greatest progress they have to date both on setting targets and agreeing to a deadline for the budget to be completed, sources said.
The officials, who included Budget Director Mary Lannoye, House Speaker Craig DeRoche (R-Novi), Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) and Senate Appropriations Chair Sen. Shirley Johnson (R-Troy), will meet again on Monday, reported Gongwer News Service.
House Appropriations Chair Scott Hummel (R-DeWitt) is still in Israel on a legislative trip.
No official comment on the meeting was made, but sources close to the talks characterized the discussions as the most fruitful of those held thus far.
The officials have agreed to tentative budget targets for two-thirds of the state departments, the sources said, although those numbers remain fluid as agreements continued to be worked on.
The officials also discussed a deadline by which the Legislature would complete work on the budget – the fiscal year will end September 30 – but a final date still has not been set.
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