LANSING – Michigan State University’s Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service will be spared a gubernatorial veto, sources have confirmed, as Governor Jennifer Granholm will complete her action on the state’s remaining 2009-10 budget bills on Friday.

But worries about other programs that may be vetoed were voiced Thursday as officials waited for Ms. Granholm to complete work on SB 243, SB 245, SB 248, SB 253, HB 4436 and HB 4441.

Granholm is scheduled to hold a conference call with reporters Friday morning to discuss her final decisions on the budget.

The continuation budget that has overseen operations of the state (those operations not already signed into law by Granholm) expires at midnight Sunday. Earlier this week, Granholm said there would be no shutdown of the government, though she did say there would be vetoes.

Officials in the administration said there would be no comment on any pending vetoes until the actions are announced.

However, sources confirmed that there would be funding for the Ag Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service in the higher education budget, HB 4441.

Granholm had signaled that funding would be included when she was quoted in a press release issued by MSU late Wednesday on the importance of the Cooperative Extension Service and the Agriculture Experiment Station to the state during the 21st Century.

“As Michigan moves from rust to green, these programs will be focused on enhancing our local communities’ efforts to collaborate and innovate in the new clean energy economy. I support continued funding for this restructuring, with its emphasis on growing Michigan’s new green economy,” Granholm said in the statement.

Still, the statement did not explicitly say supporting “continued funding” meant no veto, and until administration sources confirmed that the funding would be maintained, there was still some nervousness about the programs.

Worries about the two programs first surfaced last week when Ag Experiment and Cooperative Extension officials said October payments had not been made. MSU warned that without money the programs would be forced to close and university officials began an urgent effort to search out other sources of funds if needed.

A spokesperson for Granholm said the October payments were held “to keep our options open, because the budget was so uncertain.”

Jeffrey Armstrong, dean of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the university had a “great discussion” with administration officials about the programs. While there was concern over whether funding would be eliminated, Armstrong said he understood the administration could not say anything until it knew what it was going to do. “I think they handled it very well. I understand it’s a pressure cooker downtown,” he said.

But even while there was some relief over the two MSU programs, officials began to worry that Granholm would veto the Tuition Grant program. She has repeatedly proposed either its elimination or reduction, and officials at the state’s private colleges have warned some of them could go under without the funding.

Vetoing that program, however, could be seen as another effort to try to pry support for restoration of funding for the Promise Grant scholarship.

And even with funding for this year assured, Armstrong said the budget still calls for cuts going forward in the two programs, which means he will have to begin considering job cuts and program reductions starting for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

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