State budget deadline is ticking for Lansing with possible shutdown looming

The state budget clock is ticking with an Oct. 1 deadline in Lansing

A possible state shutdown in Lansing is looming with no budget agreement passed.

FOX 2 - The state budget shutdown clock is ticking louder as the October 1st deadline looms - the number is at 27 days and counting.

The backstory:

And if there is no budget by then. It's the governor calling the shots on what happens next, according to a former legal advisor to past Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

"Yeah, the governor is calling the shots," said Steve Leidel. "The governor has no need to invoke emergency powers if a budget has not been adopted. The governor has all of the powers - the ordinary powers - the governor has.

Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm confronted not one but two shutdowns in 2007, lasting four hours and 2009, for two hours.

Meanwhile, House GOP Speaker Matt Hall at a secret retreat on Tuesday ordered his legal team to determine what powers the governor can use, in case of a shutdown and as representative of the citizens. He is also looking into if he or lawmakers have a role to play in all this.

Tim Skubick: "There is no voice in that process for the legislature?"

"No. The constitution vests the duty to faithfully execute the laws and supervise all departments and agencies exclusively in the governor," Leidel said.

And Gov. Granholm exercised that authority when she laid off 66% of all government workers. She paused road construction projects and all Secretary of State offices closed.

The Michigan State police and correction officers stayed on the job.

The governor's key responsibility is protecting public health and safety. But the longer the shutdown goes, the question is does it become tougher for state workers to stay on the job. According to Leidel, some might say they won't work for just an IOU.

"So whether it's a state police officer or a vendor with a contract from the state, at a certain point they may decide I'm no longer interested in performing these services until I have cash in hand," he said.

Governor Whitmer says she will have contingency plans in place if needed. For example, she could ask lawmakers to pass a continuation budget until the new one is done.

Complicating the impact in Michigan is the possibility of a federal government shutdown - on exactly the same date.

Nobody in Lansing has confronted the budget double-whammy before, and nobody probably wants to confront it.