LANSING — Michigan lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer raced Tuesday, Sept. 30 to approve a state budget before the Oct. 1 start of the 2026 fiscal year but there were doubts they could complete the task before triggering a partial state government shutdown.
Meanwhile, opponents of a 24% wholesale tax on marijuana that is a key element of a proposed road funding deal protested at the Capitol in large numbers ahead of an expected Senate vote. The state House approved the marijuana tax and other legislation related to a partial budget deal in bipartisan votes Sept. 25.
Sen. Jon Bumstead, R-North Muskegon, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told the Detroit Free Press early on the afternoon of Sept. 30 he was not confident the Legislature could finalize a budget that day. Bumstead said “probably not” when asked whether he could vote in favor of the marijuana tax bill, as passed by the House.
“To me, it’s a little bit unfair to them; especially this quick,” after Michigan voters legalized recreational use of the drug in 2018, Bumstead said, gesturing to the exterior of the Capitol where marijuana proponents were demonstrating.
At least one Democratic senator, Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor, has also expressed opposition to the tax, which is expected to provide about $420 million annually for road repairs.
Whitmer said after a Sept. 30 event in Detroit that she was “confident we will get it done and we will be able to continue running government and providing services.” But she acknowledged the budget agreement was not yet finalized and said some pieces of the budget puzzle might not be finalized Sept. 30.
More: Gov. Whitmer casts new uncertainty as Michigan state budget deadline looms
Another possibility Sept. 30 was the passage of a short-term “continuation budget” to keep operations funded for a few days or longer while details are finalized.
The Michigan House and Senate held unusual Monday sessions on Sept. 29 to try to move things along, but almost no voting took place, as closed-door talks continued.
Whitmer and lawmakers had announced a partial budget deal Sept. 25, but at that time many details needed to be worked out, including school funding.
Whitmer’s officials have been tight-lipped about the immediate effects of a short-term shutdown, but closure of state parks and Secretary of State branch offices and halting of road construction projects are expected to be among the first changes taxpayers would see.
The Michigan Supreme Court issued an order Sept. 30 that said in the event of a state government shutdown, filing deadlines in the Supreme Court, the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Court of Claims will be extended the same number of days as any shutdown lasts.
A partial Michigan government shutdown would likely coincide with a federal government shutdown on Oct. 1. Having both levels of government shut down simultaneously would be a first in Michigan history.
Before 9 a.m. on Sept. 30, about 100 opponents of the marijuana tax gathered outside the Binsfeld Office Building, where senators’ offices are located, with signs blasting the tax as one that threatened jobs and families.
The crowd grew as the protest moved to the sidewalk outside the nearby Capitol.
Signs read: “Let’s be blunt. HB 4951 sucks!” and “24% is too high!” and “A tax on my job is a tax on my kids.”
Britany Martin, a Bloom City Club general manager from Quincy, near Coldwater, held a sign that said “Save MI Cannabis Jobs.”
“It will hurt us,” Martin said of the tax. “I have a lot of people that omit other states to come to me. They will stop doing so. Customers have heard about it. They are already talking. They’re like, ‘I know somebody who grows. I don’t have to come to a dispensary.’ We just see that potential decline very fast.”
Sasha Clemons, 24, of Mt. Pleasant, also attended the rally. She’s worked at a Muha Meds location in Pinconning.
“I deal with the product firsthand, get it out the door and get it to the customers,” Clemons said. She was with other Muha Meds employees.
“We’re here because it does jeopardize all of our jobs,” she said. “We wanted to show our spirit.”
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Protest, slow progress in Lansing as Michigan state budget clock ticks
