June 12, 2026 | This Week in Government: Hall Gears Up for Lengthy Budget Fight

House Speaker Matt Hall is not in a hurry to get a budget done for the 2026-27 fiscal year, he said during a press conference on Thursday.

“I’m going to try to get a deal now with Gov. Whitmer and Winnie Brinks, but if we don’t get a deal, then we’ll do it with the next Senate leader and the new governor,” he said. “We could be going down a road of a four-month continuing resolution on this budget … and we’ll do a new deal next year with a Republican governor and maybe a Republican Senate.”

Hall suggested that, much like last year, the House may wait to pass a final budget until after the statutory July 1 deadline and constitutional Oct. 1 deadline.

Instead of a full budget, the House would, like last year, try to force the Legislature to pass an appropriations bill that continued spending at the 2025-26 fiscal year funding levels until after the election and the new year.

“I get a better deal,” Hall said.

Last year, the Legislature did not pass a final budget until Oct. 3.

Republican budget priorities, as Hall laid out on Thursday, include lowering the cost of healthcare, with a focus on reducing hospital costs, reducing fraud in Medicaid, childcare, and food stamps and eliminating unfilled full-time equivalent employee positions, or ghost employees. Hall also said House Republicans would not accept a budget that spent money from the Budget Stabilization Fund.

“We can invest in public safety, we can invest in education, we can do all of it if we just stop over-budgeting 50% of the line items by $2 billion,” he said.

He also said he wanted to see real effort to get state employees back in Lansing, a deal on property tax cuts and lowering utility bills, along with extending free breakfast and lunch to students who don’t attend public schools.

“We’re going to clean up fraud, we’re going to stop the ghost employees, we’re going to rein in the IT spending, and we’ll see. Maybe we’ll get a deal that include property tax reform,” Hall said.

Senate Democrats were not impressed by the speaker’s comments on Thursday.

“Here we go again,” said Rosie Jones, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Winne Brinks, D-Grand Rapids. “Senate Democrats remain committed to meeting the July 1 budget deadline.”

The fact that the Legislature finds itself in this position again, for the second year in a row, is a bad sign, said Andrea Bitely, founder and principal of Bitely Communications and former spokesperson for Mike Duggan’s gubernatorial campaign.

“The fact that Michigan’s Legislature cannot work together in a way that will even allow them to do the most basic function that they’re required to do, which is pass a budget on time, is something that if you talk to the average Michigander on the street, that is something they’re actually concerned about,” Bitely said. “It means that kids will go back to school in the same situations they went last year, which was that school districts weren’t able to hire or replace teachers, and kids will go back to school in larger class sizes.”

That only contributes to Michigan’s poor education outcomes, Bitely said.

“Michigan kids are already behind in pretty much every category, but especially the fundamental need of reading, larger class sizes directly correlate with worse reading outcomes,” she said.

Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, was furious on Thursday, sending a lengthy statement condemning Hall and the Legislature.

“We’re 20 days for the legal deadline for the Legislature to get the School Aid Budget done,” he said. “The time for excuses is over. Speaker Hall, Majority Leader Brinks and Governor Whitmer need to sit down, set aside the unrelated policy fights, and get this budget done immediately.”

McCann, in his statement, said that no serious person could believe that a responsible overhaul of Michigan’s property tax system could happen in the next two weeks, especially when there is no viable plan on the table.

“The speaker has had 18 months to advance those priorities on their own merits and has chosen not to, now threatening to hold the school budget hostage to a plan he himself doesn’t know the details of,” McCann said.

House Republicans passed legislation last month that would eliminate property taxes, but they did not pass HB 5880, the bill the rest of the property tax bills are tie barred to, which would expand the state’s 6% sales tax to unspecified services to backfill cuts to the School Aid Fund and local governments.

“It is infuriating for anyone who cares about this state, and especially for those who care about our schools, to hear Speaker Hall once again act as if his legal responsibility to get a budget done by July 1 is something he can simply choose to ignore because he isn’t getting his way on unrelated policy issues,” McCann said. “That deadline is not optional, and it is certainly not contingent on the Speaker getting everything he wants.”

Both Democrats and Republicans are choosing politics right now, Bitely said.

“Right now, the Legislature has the ability to hold hands for 10 minutes and get everybody on the same page and pass a budget,” Bitely said. “But they’re just going to point fingers at each other and blame the other party, because that’s easier than solving a problem.”

A ribbon cutting and subsequent opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit was canceled on Thursday with officials saying the United States and Canada are “taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.”

Thursday’s official statement from Chuck Andary, interim chief executive officer and chief legal officer of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, came after several news outlets reported earlier in the week a ribbon cutting was scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. The Detroit News, citing unnamed sources, reported that the bridge would open to traffic next week.

The event had not been publicly announced or advised to the press by Thursday morning when communication went to those invited to the ribbon cutting informing them it had been canceled.

Andary, in his statement, said Canada and the U.S. agreed to delay the opening of the bridge.

“The Gordie Howe International Bridge will be a vital economic link for Canada and the United States,” he said. “As we work towards an opening date, we are taking a collaborative approach, reflecting our shared ambition for this trade corridor.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, asked by reporters about the bridge’s opening at a separate event, said she is hopeful “we can get it back on track.”

“The bridge is done,” she said, according to video posted of the exchange by the Detroit Free Press. “Michigan is ready to move forward, and we are hoping we can do that in the next few days or weeks.”

When pressed, Whitmer said she didn’t have any more information to share. A reporter asked if she was surprised the ribbon cutting was canceled and she said, “yes and no.”

The back and forth on the bridge comes after President Donald Trump in February declared he would “not allow” the bridge to open unless the U.S. was fully compensated. The bridge is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan, but Canada fully financed its construction.

The Associated Press reported invitations for the bridge’s opening went out after Whitmer spoke with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, but then there were internal disagreements in the administration.

Neither Trump nor the White House made an official statement on the bridge on Thursday. Trump earlier this year threatened not to allow the bridge to open after the owners of the rival Ambassador Bridge met with his Commerce secretary. The drama comes amid ongoing trade disputes between Canada and the U.S.

Even though the Canadians paid for the bridge, House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, said the United States got a bad deal. He cited the bridge being over budget.

“I’m very happy that the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge has been delayed,” Hall said. “I’m looking forward to a future day when the Gordie Howe Bridge opens, but this was a very bad deal.”

Hall said that the U.S. got a very bad deal for the bridge because the project was $4 billion over budget. He also said Canada and the U.S. should evenly split the toll revenue. The deal calls for Canada to receive all toll revenues until it has been repaid for the cost of the bridge.

“I think it was smart that they’re pausing, and they’re working to make a deal, and I have a lot of confidence in our Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and Commerce Secretary Lutnick and the president to make a great deal that’s going to make this a true, equal partnership,” Hall said.

The deal between Michigan and Canada to have Canada pay the full cost of the bridge was negotiated by in the early 2010s by then-Gov. Rick Snyder. Snyder, who has urged Trump to allow the bridge to open, has been a key leader in fundraising efforts for the House Republican Campaign Committee to help Hall’s House Republicans maintain their majority.

President Donald Trump is not on the ballot this year, and that’s bad news for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin said Monday.

Slotkin, D-Holly, spoke to the Detroit Economic Club on Monday. While there, she discussed bipartisanship in the current political climate, data centers, the war in Iran, her future political aspirations, and the state of the U.S. Senate primary.

“There’s a big difference between being on the ballot with Donald Trump in a presidential year and a midterm,” she said. “Many fewer millions of people in Michigan vote. It’s a different electorate, so I think that will affect things.”

Slotkin said that although she thinks Rogers learned things during his 2024 bid, which he lost to her, he has aligned himself more closely with the president.

“Michiganders care about someone who’s going to be a fighter for them and who’s going to represent a broad swath of people, and I urge everyone in the primary to remember that,” she said.

Slotkin, who was the heavy favorite ahead of the 2024 primary where went up against Democrat Hill Harper, said primaries never feel great.

“It’s people who largely have similar views turning on each other,” she said.

This year’s Democratic primary is much more contentious, but Slotkin said she was not worried about the strong opinions being expressed.

“Elections reflect the wills of the people,” Slotkin said. “That energy you’re seeing for a bunch of people, I think there’s, in general, a very good year for Democrats. I’m seeing that around the country.”

The important thing, Slotkin said, was the Michigan Democrats unite after the primary.

“You’ve got to remember to be decent to each other, and we shouldn’t be a circular firing squad and nasty to each other,” she said.

During her talk before the Detroit Economic Club, Slotkin more broadly discussed coming together in the current political environment, not just on the Democratic side but across the aisle.

“What does your politics matter when your mission is to protect the United States?” she said of her early career with the CIA. “Now, I’m in an arena where it’s quite the opposite there’s too few people focused on the mission and act of actually helping the country and are happier to just be immersed in their political agenda.”

Bipartisanship isn’t always “sexy,” Slotkin said, noting that legislation on agriculture and veterans don’t normally get much attention.

“You have to make clear the benefit of what you’re doing,” she said.

Still, Slotkin said bipartisanship was a balancing act, trying to determine where she should compromise and where she should hold firmly to her beliefs and values.

Slotkin said she’s been spending a lot of time in the Midwest and talking about the Midwest to a national audience.

“The Midwest is a critical place to help figure out and chart the future in the country,” she said. “We’re practical, reasonable people who know how to work hard.”

She pointed to recent successes, like the Selfridge Air National Guard Base and the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which is set to have an official groundbreaking later this week, The Detroit News reported citing anonymous sources.

“We’re talking about doing big things … things that would not happen if it wasn’t state, local, and federal working together,” Slotkin said.

Michigan and the Midwest know how to work with people who have different views.

“I don’t know what the secret sauce is other than if you want to do that, you have to appeal to a broad group of people, and you have to make clear that you are working to fight for all people,” she said.

Slotkin also discussed the ongoing war with Iran, saying that a resolution was needed, otherwise Michigan residents and people across the country would continue to feel pain at the gas pump.

“It’s harder to get out of a war than it is to get in,” Slotkin said. “This is the point about warfare and getting into conflict is when you make that decision, you make a decision not only to control your own actions, but to try and manage what other actors do.”

Slotkin said the deal President Donald Trump is working toward is comparable to what former President Barack Obama negotiated.

“The contours of the negotiation with the Iranians: it’s dealing with something in the future on their nuclear program, it’s talking about their ballistic missile program, it’s talking about terrorism and it’s opening the straits,” she said. “That’s essentially what was discussed in the JCPOA, the Obama-era agreement.”

Until a deal is reached with Iran, Slotkin said people will continue to pay high prices for gas and other goods.

“If there is not a resolution, we will continue to see this inflation on gas prices that will ultimately affect every other good and services,” she said.

Slotkin also addressed the concern around data centers.

“I haven’t seen that kind of grassroots energy on almost any other issue before now,” she said. “They are really worried about their local resources, their water, their electricity rates – which are killing them – and is also kind of mixed in with a general feeling like ‘I don’t know what AI is going to do to the future of work, to my state, to my kids.’”

Data centers need “left and right limits,” Slotkin said.

“There needs to be rules of the road so that we have transparency. It’s very difficult to try and expect local people to be OK when there’s non-disclosure agreements, and no one knows the terms of the deal,” she said. “They must put in the fine print that the locals are never going to be responsible for a rate hike, for water hikes. If you’re a billionaire company, you should be able to put it in writing that the locals are never going to be left holding the bag.”

Michigan’s shrinking population is an existential threat to the future of the state’s infrastructure, Slotkin said.

“If we do not grow, if we do not retain and attract more young families, 10-15 years from now, we will not be able to afford our infrastructure,” she said. “You’re worried about the cost of utilities now? You can’t imagine what happens if these communities continue to shrink. If we don’t replace our population, we just don’t have enough ratepayers – enough people to afford the new bridge, the new tunnel, the new water system.”

Finally, Slotkin addressed her future political aspirations, saying she wasn’t taking herself out of the presidential race for 2028 or beyond.

“It does not need to be me, but I have not taken myself out of it, because I want to be part of the next generation of leaders who actually changes what we do in this country and leads us forward,” she said. “Political leaders who understand that the mission is not their personal brand and who they are on the internet, but actually getting stuff done … this is our generation’s time to fight for what we believe in, and I want to be a part of that one way or another.”

Bills that would accelerate the timeline for Michigan schools to introduce curriculum focused on the science of reading narrowly passed the House on Wednesday.

The legislation, HB 5819 and HB 5820, would move up the deadline for schools to introduce and provide training for literacy curriculum focused on systematic phonics, language comprehension, vocabulary development, and evidence-based teaching practices.

Both bills passed 56-50, with Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, and Rep. Jim DeSana, R-Carleton, voting no.

Under legislation passed last term, schools had until September 2027. These bills would move the deadline up to September of this year.

“When the literacy package passed last term, we said ‘be ready by September of 2027.’ By accelerating just two months before the beginning of the school year, we told schools we don’t care if you’re ready; do this now,” said Rep. Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, who chaired the House Education Committee last term. “It’s the equivalent of driving a car halfway off with the assembly line.”

The 2027 deadline was originally chosen because that’s the time schools said they would need to ramp up the program and provide adequate training, Koleszar said.

“For some school districts, it’s pretty drastic,” he said.

Watching the House vote on these bills was frustrating, Koleszar said, because it undermines the good, bipartisan work that members are doing in committee. The House Education and Workforce Committee saw bipartisan votes on Wednesday to advance bills that would effectively require LETRS training, considered the gold standard in science of reading professional development for teachers, to be completed by every kindergarten through 5th grade teacher in the state.

Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, said the bills fixed the problem the original legislation had in the first place: they delayed the solution to the literacy crisis.

“They just want to drag it out … and never get anything done,” she said. “If we don’t take immediate action, instead of being 44th (in reading nationally), we’re going to be 50th.”

Many schools have already pivoted, Greene said.

“We want to make sure that every school is fully equipped to be able to get it launched,” she said. “They’re already making their financial decisions now. If we can get this into law, then we will be able to start this immediately. There’s no reason to delay.”

Koleszar said by moving up the timeline, House Republicans were politicizing the process,

“This is nothing more than messaging,” he said. “It’s not actually designed to help kids.”

The House also passed HB 5621, which is part of the package. That bill would allow the Department of Education to incur administrative costs to review and approve locally developed or self-created literacy curricula.

It passed 61-45. Rep. Joey Andrews, D-St. Joseph; Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn; Rep. John Fitzgerald, D-Wyoming; Rep. Tulio Librati, D-Allen Park; Rep. Jasper Martus, D-Flushing; and Rep. Will Snyder, R-Muskegon voted for the bill. Carra and DeSana voted no.

Officials with the County Road Association of Michigan said Monday they expect there to be a delay, possibly into next year, in when local road agencies begin taking advantage of new revenue under the state’s 2025 road funding plan.

During a Monday media roundtable to discuss how the 2025 long-term road funding plan passed by the Legislature works, officials noted that the funding changes are leading to questions over when the money will flow to local road funding agencies.

Last October, the Legislature as part of a budget deal passed a long-term road funding plan that included a 24% wholesale tax on cannabis products. It also contained provisions that swapped out revenue for fuel taxes and covered the gap in revenue for schools.

Tom Steinbis, a legislative specialist for CRA, said the Corporate Income Tax revenue set aside for the Neighborhood Roads Fund created under the 2025 law is the biggest component of the funding plan, with about $688 million projected to come in during 2026, rising to about $1 billion by 2030.

“This is the thing that creates … some interesting workings in what our agencies and what I think a lot of the Legislature is going to be seeing as the biggest change from what they’re used to,” Steinbis said.

He explained the first $1.2 billion in Corporate Income Tax revenue goes to the General Fund, followed by $50 million for housing and community development. From there, CIT revenues begin flowing into the Neighborhood Roads Fund.

Combined with an estimated $420 million from the cannabis wholesale tax, this puts the fund at about $1.1 billion.

Of this funding to the Neighborhood Roads Fund, 52% are to go to counties, 28% to municipalities, and 20% to the Department of Transportation.

The remaining state funding for roads outside of the Neighborhood Roads Fund will continue to be funded through the Michigan Transportation Fund.

“Our best guess is that the road agencies’ MTF will be flat this year,” Steinbis said. “As far as projects, … I would assume that they are going to get funded, probably in the fall, and they’re going to talk to their townships. … It might be just a year delayed.”

Steinbis chalked up the likely delay in some spending in the first year under the new funding formula to growing pains. Once everyone knows more about how much funding will be disbursed and when, the new funds will begin to be incorporated into the system.

Ed Noyola, chief deputy and legislative liaison for CRA, said the Corporate Income Tax typically generates about $2 billion per year, so the money should be there for the Neighborhood Roads Fund.

He explained that due to the timing of the receipt of some of the funds, local agencies are likely to wait until the following year for bidding on some projects.

“It’s just that delayed bidding process,” Noyola said.

There are also questions over whether the cannabis tax will create the expected amount of revenue. Last week it was reported that for the first few months of this year, collections of the wholesale cannabis tax were at about $34 million less than the House Fiscal Agency’s $105 million per-quarter projection for the year.

Cannabis industry leaders last week said the fall in revenue is due to reduced sales due to the implementation of the tax.

“Our elected leaders made the cannabis industry a sacrificial lamb in order to have the illusion of a road funding fix,” Michigan Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Robin Schneider said in a statement last week. “In reality, the only thing they have accomplished is the decimation of a strong industry that served as an economic driver for the state. The result is business closures, jobs lost and tax revenue taken away from local governments.”

Within days of its passage last year the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association filed a lawsuit over the tax in the Court of Claims. In April, the Supreme Court ordered the Court of Appeals to expedite its review of the group’s challenge of the tax and stayed a trial in the case.

The Michigan Cannabis Industry Association in a separate lawsuit filed in March has also argued that the wholesale tax functions as an illegal sales tax.

CRA officials were reluctant Monday to guess as to why revenue projections were less than expected under the wholesale tax.

“This is the first go-around. There probably are some outside factors that we haven’t thought of,” Noyola said. “I’m sure that there are reasons out there, but we’re looking forward to seeing what else comes in from the wholesale.”

CRA officials were also asked what might happen if the lawsuits against the tax were to prevail.

“We don’t think they’re going to,” Denise Donohue, Chief Executive Officer of the CRA, said, adding the CRA believes the Legislature’s law changes were legal and that the state was not precluded from developing an additional form of taxation.