Michigan lawmakers hustle to finalize the budget for the next fiscal year
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — Lawmakers in Michigan are running out of time to finalize the budget before the session ends.
It'll be a busy 24 hours inside the Capitol as the legislature works to finalize the budget before the end of the session on Thursday. Among the lawmakers working on Wednesday was embattled state Rep. Neil Friske, who's facing allegations of sexual assault after his recent arrest.
CBS News Detroit spoke with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about the arrest but the overall response was, "no comment."
The state's budget for the next fiscal year, which begins in October, is roughly $80 billion. About $20 billion of this money will go toward public education.
Education groups have expressed concern about how money for public school teachers' retirement is being allocated today. Thursday this week marks the final day of session for lawmakers before they break for summer recess.
"I think seeing it and voting on it on the same day is irresponsible for everyone in the House and the Senate," said state Rep. Donni Steele (R-Orion Township).
Republican lawmakers, which are the minority party, must hurry to read the budget draft before voting on it. Steele said she would have liked to see more funding for infrastructure in this budget.
"I'm just waiting for the bill to drop and to run around and try to read it really fast and vote no on it. That's my plan for today," said Steele.
The voting situation was reversed for the last 40 years when Republicans were in the majority.
"Well, I spent two terms in the minority, and I'm in the midst of one term in the majority, and I remember who that feels," said state Rep. Rachel Hood.
Hood said she's pleased with the budget, especially funding for schools.
"This year, our budget is a little tighter than it has been in the past with all of that federal funding that we moved through with one-time spending, but we've still been able to find creative ways to make sure that our schools are still whole," said Hood.