LANSING – The budget that Gov. Rick Snyder will propose February 17 will only ask the Legislature to pass a budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year because of constitutional issues clouding the ability to enact a two-year budget that includes the 2012-13 fiscal year, Budget Director John Nixon said Monday.
Nixon said until the constitutional issues surrounding the enactment of a two-year budget can be resolved, Mr. Snyder will ask the Legislature only to pass a budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year. But Mr. Snyder will offer his recommended spending for the 2012-13 fiscal year as well to provide long-term thinking, he said.
Sen. Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw Twp.) has asked Attorney General Bill Schuette for a legal opinion on the legality of a two-year budget.
Nixon reiterated that the budget would eschew the one-time fixes that have dominated budget-making for the past 10 years, but he also said that comes with a price.
“There are a lot of tough decisions that are being made,” he said at the Business Leaders for Michigan summit on the state’s fiscal health.
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