LANSING — House Speaker Matt Hall says a framework for an agreement on the 2027 state budget is signed as talks continue with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks.
Hall, R-Richmond Township, said at a June 23 news conference that terms of the agreement include: no tax increases; no draw from the Budget Stabilization Fund, which is more commonly known as the state Rainy Day Fund; and a budget that is smaller than the budget for the current fiscal year.
Otherwise, Hall said he was reluctant to discuss details while negotiations continue.
At the Senate Majority Leader’s office, “I can confirm that a budget framework has been reached,” said Rosie Jones, a spokeswoman for Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, in a June 23 text message.
Bobby Leddy, a spokesman for Whitmer, also confirmed a preliminary deal had been signed. It “puts us on a path to pass a balanced, bipartisan budget by the July 1 deadline that continues tax cuts for working families and retirees, invests in public education, protects health care, and strengthens public safety,” Leddy said in a text message.
The next step, Hall said, is agreement on budget “targets” — the amounts individual state departments are authorized to spend. He said he hoped spending targets could be agreed on as early as June 23.
The Legislature has, by law, set a July 1 deadline for finalizing the budget each year. But there are no penalties for missing that deadline, and the 2026 state budget wasn’t passed until early in the morning of Oct. 3, which is after the Oct. 1 start of the state fiscal year. The July 1 deadline is particularly important to Michigan school districts, because, in most cases, Michigan school districts work from a fiscal year that begins July 1.
“There is still a chance we can get this thing through the House and Senate and to the Governor by July 1,” Hall said.
“This is going to be challenging for some people, because this is a budget where you’re going to have to make cuts.”
Hall said he hopes an agreement can be reached on a major property tax cut, but he said negotiations related to a property tax cut are going on parallel to the budget talks and the property tax cut issue has not been holding up budget talks.
There was unusual disagreement about the total size of the 2026 budget, due to complications related to the way certain health-related taxes were accounted for, the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan pegged it at $84 billion, down slightly from the 2025 budget of $84.1 billion, once all 2025 supplemental spending bills are included. The House Fiscal Agency has pegged the adjusted gross total of the 2026 budget at $81.5 billion, which does not include certain health-related monies that were placed in contingency funds.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: House and Senate confirm deal reached on budget ‘framework’ for 2027
Reporting by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
